Seven Ways to Break a Racer's Heart
by Kara Tezla
Summary: SEQUEL TO THE ART OF STEALING CARS Kara Tezla is back, and she has more problems to deal with than her brother and uncle. Along with the usual gang related problems, she finds that they are being hunted. FINAL CHAPTER UP.
1. 1:32 AM

**Seven Ways to Break a Racer's Heart**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hot Wheels... or Acceleracers... I only own Kara Tezla and her gang and all the other stuff I make up, and Trinity and her gang belong to Wings of Speed. Whew.**

**Summary: (sequel to the Art of Stealing Cars) Kara Tezla is back, and she has more problems to deal with than her brother and uncle. Along with dealing with her usual Los Angeles gang problems, she has new racing teams to worry about, and she has to keep her reputation. When weird stuff starts happening around the mansion, she becomes curious, and as you know, curiosity killed the cat... but racers don't have nine lives to waste. **

**A/N: This, just to warn you, will focus a bit more on Kara and Vert's relationship, and Kara's relationship with Los Angeles. Yes, they will be heading back to the city for part of the story. More of Kara's "gang" will be appearing. There are more of them than you thought, eh? Even more exciting, Kara's older brother will be making an appearance!**

Chapter One: 1:32 AM

Two loud gunshots rang out, echoing off the walls of the dirty brick buildings. Several more followed, but they seemed distant to the girl who stood in the center of it all. The scene moved in slow motion, each moment of Luke Tezla was captured by Kara's eyes. He staggered backward, his fingers groping his chest. Crimson stained his fingers as they ran over the holes where the bullets had entered.

"Luke..." Kara heard herself say, stepping toward her wounded sibling. A bullet sliced through the air in front of her, going slow enough so she could see it. Her own heartbeat now overtook the noisy crowd, beating through her ears and sending her body into shock. A strong hand grasped her shoulder and pulled her a step backward.

"Kara! We've got to leave!" the familiar voice of her brother Alex rang over the beating.

Taking another step backwards, she turned to leave, but not before seeing three words form on Luke's lips.

_Seven chance disk..._

"Luke!" Kara exclaimed, her eyes flying open. _Dreaming_, she thought, _I was only dreaming_.

"Kara?" a distant voice called from outside her door less than a minute later.

"Yeah?"

"What's wrong?"

Kara threw the covers off and made her way to the door, shivering a little from the sudden change in temperature. She glanced at the clock; 1:32 am. Making her way to the door, she opened it to a disheveled-looking Alex.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"I heard you--" Alex started.

"I was dreaming about Luke," Kara interrupted softly.

Both siblings fell silent. A low humming could be heard as the heat turned on.

"It's snowing," Alex said awkwardly after what seemed like forever.

"Really?" Kara inquired, walking to her window and flinging open the curtains, Alex on her heels. The moon peeked through the clouds just enough to reflect the small flakes that fell down over the mountainside. "Wow," she breathed, her warm breath creating a cloud of condensation on the cold window.

"What was it about?" Alex whispered.

"It?"

"Your dream,"

"Luke was shot..." was all that Kara could croak out. Alex put his arm around his sister. Both of them had been there, but the dreams that Kara was having was only bringing everything back, sometimes even clearer than they remembered it.

"Do you think you'll be able to get back to sleep?"

"Yeah,"

"Okay," Alex turned and walked to the door, taking the handle and shutting the door a little bit behind him. "Goodnight," he whispered, closing the heavy door the rest of the way when he saw his sister climb back into bed.

"'Night," Kara replied. She had left the window open so she could watch the sparkling flakes fall, knowing it would take forever for her to get comfortable enough to doze off. It was late November, and her grounding was almost up, thank goodness, just in time to start her Christmas shopping.

_Christmas_... the word ran through her head like a tiny child; wildly and recklessly.

"Hm," she grunted. The image cast on the floor from the moon and snow reminded her of waterfall with the moon causing the snow to have a water-like appearance in its wake.

How many people did she have to buy for, again? Kara squinted as she went into thought and counted. Before she even got done, she was bored with the idea. There were too many to name.

As she drifted in and out of a light sleep, she never heard her door open. Outside her room, a certain blonde male watched her in the pale of the moon. After Vert was sure that she was safe, he silently closed the door and started back to his room.

"It's nice to know that somebody else is watching her," Alex said, startling Vert.

"Well... I... um--"

"Get back to bed, Vert."

"Okay,"

Vert scurried off in the direction of his room.

Alex sighed deeply and disappeared into the shadows of his own room, silently climbing back under his covers. He had a feeling that tomorrow was going to be a busy day. Tomorrow his sister was no longer grounded. That means she would want to drive her car. Great. He turned over and closed his eyes, falling into a restless sleep.


	2. An Unexpected Visitor

**Seven Ways to Break a Racer's Heart**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hot Wheels... or Acceleracers... I only own Kara Tezla and her gang and all the other stuff I make up, and Trinity and her gang belong to Wings of Speed. Whew.**

**Summary: (sequel to the Art of Stealing Cars) Kara Tezla is back, and she has more problems to deal with than her brother and uncle. Along with dealing with her usual Los Angeles gang problems, she has new racing teams to worry about, and she has to keep her reputation. When weird stuff starts happening around the mansion, she becomes curious, and as you know, curiosity killed the cat... but racers don't have nine lives to waste. **

**A/N: I just realized the most unorganized children's sport in the world: Basketball. I suggest you don't criticize the ref until you've actually gotten out there and ref-ed yourself. It doesn't help when all the players only come up to your waist. My legs hurt.**

Chapter Two: An Unexpected Visitor

"Where's Kara?" asked Mark as he sat down for breakfast. It was December 1st, and many of the teenagers inside the mansion were planning on heading out for the day.

"I think she went down to the garage," said Alex, stuffing a fork-full of eggs into his mouth.

"Oh, right! I almost forgot that she's not grounded anymore,"

The racers came and went from the dining area and left for the garages. Kara, who had been down there since six that morning, was busy working away on the candy-apple red Grand Prix GT that her brother had neglected. Well, it _used_ to be red, now it was a two-toned black and navy blue with colorful oil/chemical spots all over. Kara was half hidden inside, her legs poking out the partially open door.

"Great," Mark retorted, "now that you're back on the road, you can start putting the rest of our cars to shame... again."

"Eh," Kara said, ignoring Mark. "I'm not back on the road _just_ yet. I still need to install the subs and touch up the paint job. Besides, I'd think you'd be glad that I was back."

"We'll see about that yet,"

"Are you going today with the rest of 'em?"

"Out? Yeah, but I'm going back to LA for a bit. James says he's having a hard time."

"Hard time with what?"

"Stuff, he says that somebody took over the old HQ and turned it into a dumpy nightclub. The rest of the gang meets in secret over at Joe's place every once in a while to keep up with things."

"Shouldn't I know these things before you?" Kara asked, sitting up and pushing the door all the way open.

Mark shrugged, "It's not my fault Joe's not calling you. I thought you knew,"

"Has he told you anything about Aaron?"

"Ol' Crater Face? No, I'm assuming that he thinks we're all gone."

"Superiority?"

"Haven't heard anything about that either. I'd bet that somebody's taken our place. I'll call you when I get over there."

"Is Adrianna going with you?"

"I think so, you'd have to check with her to make sure, though." Mark walked off toward his car. "I'll talk to you later,"

"Yup,"

Leaning back, Kara took her previous position wiring a woofer between the seat. It made her upset thinking that she couldn't leave Joe in charge and expect him to call her. She would have to make a surprise visit to him soon. Twisting together two wires to hold her place, she climbed out and watched Mark drive away. Adrianna's car was right behind his. Other cars started up minutes later and drove out, heading toward the nearest mall.

"You wanna go shopping?" Vert asked from behind Kara.

"Uh," Kara turned to face him. "I have work to do, but if I didn't, yeah."

"Oh," Vert said, a little downhearted.

"Sorry,"

"It's okay," Vert smiled and walked toward his car awkwardly. "I... I guess I'll see you later?"

"Yup,"

Kara chuckled to herself as he hit himself on the head with Reverb's door. Vert rubbed his head and looked back at her. She shook her head and ducked back into the Grand Prix. His face flushing with embarrassment, Vert settled into the driver's seat. Not only did he embarrass himself, but now he had a nice purple bump on his forehead to show for it.

------------------------------

After everyone had left, with the exception of Kara, Dr. Tezla, Karma, and Pork Chop, there was a ring at the front door. No one was exactly nearby to answer it, so it rang at least three times before Tezla paged his niece.

Kara sighed; it figured that her uncle was too lazy to get up from work and answer the door. She climbed the flight of stairs from the garage into the back hallway and made her way through the living room to the foyer and the front door.

"I'm sorry I couldn't--" Kara apologized, opening the door, but she stopped mid-sentence. "Josh...?"

In front of the nineteen-year-old stood a sandy brunette in clean-cut military uniform. Several pins on his uniform shone in the minimal light, and his breath puffed out like a cloud of smoke. He grinned. "Hey Kar," he said. He let the grin fall off his face. "Let me in, it's freezing out here."

Kara smiled and stepped aside to let her brother in. They looked nothing alike, but if she had to say who she was most like in her family, it would be Josh. He was tall and muscular, and not to mention smart. He went to college at the age of eighteen and graduated in two years with a bachelor's in Information Technology. When he heard what Luke had done, which went against everything that our parents had ever taught us, he took the easy way out and took his education into the Army. It had been four years since she had saw him last.

"Gosh dang, Kara, where's Uncle Pete?" he scoffed, pulling off his boots and gloves and placing them beside the door.

"Up in his office, I believe. He never comes down any more."

Josh turned and smiled at his sister. "Wow, you've grown,"

"Really?" Kara asked, "I just think you've shrunk."

"I hope not," he laughed, "where is everybody?"

"They just left... uh, except for a couple people in the garage."

"Oh," Josh brushed past his sister and into the living room, throwing himself on the couch. "I didn't think you'd be here, Kar."

"Huh?" she asked, sitting in a chair.

"I thought you guys were living in Los Angeles."

"Yeah, we came out here for a couple days and never left. Mark said he was going over today to check on things."

Josh's face went dark as he looked up at the ceiling. "You aren't still involved with those gangs, are you?"

Worried, Kara, bit her lip and tried the innocent approach. "Um, their kind of hard to get out of once you're in."

"Kara!" Josh shot a dangerous look at the brunette.

"Well, I'm sorry, okay?" she said, moving to the offensive. "I'm not just going to leave it because it's dangerous and watch all my hard work fall into the hands of some idiots! I'm still here, aren't I?"

The was a brief silence.

"I just don't want you to end up like Luke, Kar. He thought the same way you did."

Kara sighed, "Just don't worry about me, okay? I know more about this stuff than you think I do."

There was another, longer pause. So long, in fact, that Kara thought that her brother had fallen asleep.

"What's uncle working on?" Josh whispered hoarsely before clearing his throat.

"I don't know," she retorted back, "I never know what he's doing. That whole office is a mess, something like a wreck after a tornado."

"Hm,"

"Are you staying for Christmas?"

"Are _you_ staying for Christmas?"

"Only if you are,"

"I think so, but I don't know when I'm going to get called back."

"Why don't you just stay here? You don't have to go back, do you?"

"No, but it keeps me out of trouble, and I like it. It's not like I'm on the front line 24/7 like some of the guys. Besides, I have friends over there."

"Well, when you get done with this whole 'Army' deal, bring some of your friends back and we can all hang out."

"Why? So you can draft them into your own army?"

Kara grinned, "No, silly,"

Just then, they heard the sound of the door to the garages opening, and footsteps coming down the hallway. A familiar voice called Kara's name.

"Kara, dear!"

Kara sat up; disbelief crossing her face. "Jess?" she asked quietly.

**Yay! End of chapter two. Yay! My legs still hurt, but ham is yummy!**

**To my reviewers!**

_**Kawaii: 1:39 in the morning? Are you crazy woman?! I look forward to reading the second chapter! Yay! i seem to like that word right now**_

_**Trin: I figured out the whole private messaging thing out, as Kawaii knows, and I'm thinking we can get back to communicating! I have finally gotten my own email address! Yay me! As I said before, my legs hurt. I stood around listening to parents yell and scream about how unfair life is. I may PM you and tell you more about that. It was interesting.**_


	3. What she doesn't know won't hurt her

**Seven Ways to Break a Racer's Heart**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hot Wheels... or Acceleracers... I only own Kara Tezla and her gang and all the other stuff I make up, and Trinity and her gang belong to Wings of Speed. Whew.**

**Summary: (sequel to the Art of Stealing Cars) Kara Tezla is back, and she has more problems to deal with than her brother and uncle. Along with dealing with her usual Los Angeles gang problems, she has new racing teams to worry about, and she has to keep her reputation. When weird stuff starts happening around the mansion, she becomes curious, and as you know, curiosity killed the cat... but racers don't have nine lives to waste. **

**A/N: Ah, a snow day. I love them. Now read, I say, I know you're dying to know what's going to happen.**

Chapter Three: "What she doesn't know won't hurt her."

Eighteen-year-old club owner and spy Jessica Highst strolled into the room, followed by her car-racing brother Whittaker. If you looked at them one at a time, you would have never guessed they were siblings. Jessica had wavy, sandy brown hair that contrasted against her dark brown eyes that twinkled mischievously. She had a bubbly personality and wasn't afraid to be loud and obnoxious, the exact opposite of her brother, who wasn't shy, but he would rather not be noticed. He had blonde hair; so blonde, in fact, that it was almost white. Clear blue eyes glanced indifferently around the room, not giving any clue of what lied behind them.

Unlike his extremely thin sister, he bore a more heavy presence about him and a more influential personality. He had enough muscle on his body to not be thin, but not enough to be considered "buff". Kara knew he was a threat, and that's why she had offered him a spot on her team after she saw the work Jessica had done for her.

"Jessie!" Kara squealed, jumping up to hug her friend. If either of the boys in the room didn't know better, they would have guessed the two hadn't seen each other in years. "This is so cool!"

Kara embraced Whit next. "You guys don't know how much I've missed you!" Whit gave Josh an awkward look, making the eldest smile.

"Have a seat," she said, running back to her own chair. "I believe you guys know my brother, Josh."

Jessica gave a petite wave before sitting in the chair across from Kara. Whit sat next to Josh on the couch and shook his hand.

"What's the news?" Kara asked, her hazel eyes prodding Jessica's brown ones.

"Well," Jess reclined a little, "Joe was getting a little out of hand, so Whit suggested we come out here. And, just wondering, how many people are staying out here? It took forever just to get up the drive!"

"Eh, I don't even want to count."

"Anywho, I'll fill you in on everything later. I want to know what you've been doing out here."

Kara fell silent, trying to think of something that wouldn't sound too outrageous. It wasn't like she was going to tell everyone about the Silencerz. "I met a... guy," she said, leaving out the 'really hot' part for the sake of Whit and her brother.

"You did?" Jess asked, her voice faltering a little. "Does he work for the government?"

Kara sighed, "No... at least, I don't think so. He used to race for my uncle." This question came up every time she had a new boyfriend or met another guy she thought was worthy. In the past four years, she had dated three police officers/police officers in-training. Two of them had tried to turn her in after a couple months, and the third almost got caught on a date with her. She had a background check done on her most recent boyfriend, who ended up being one of her best mechanics.

"Ooo, a racer! This is a first, I thought you said they were conceited and would never make a good boyfriend."

"I said that about racing _leaders_, Jess, and anybody can go back on their word. This guy is nice!"

Jess smiled.

"Did anybody else come with you?" Kara asked, changing the subject.

"No," Jess answered, accepting the change. "But we all want you back. Joe's such an--"

"I got that point, already, and it's nothing new."

Yawning widely and giving Kara a small wink, Jess stood. "Why don't we go to your room?"

"Oh, sure," Kara answered, leading her friend down one of the two corridors. Both knew that this was the time to carry the 'boy' conversation further. Before Kara forgot, though, she peeked back into the main room, whistling to her brother.

"Josh, if you want to spend the night or something, you can. You too, Whit," she offered.

"Hm," Josh replied, too deep in his own quiet conversation to pay any mind.

------------------------------

"Alex?" a very tired Vert asked, walking up behind the youngest Tezla. Most of the racers had discovered themselves at the biggest mall in the area, with the exception of the few who knew where they were going.

The brunette turned to look at the blonde. "Maybe you shouldn't have stayed up so late?" he asked with a broad grin to counter the gigantic yawn that came from Vert.

"Eh," Vert grunted.

Alex laughed, "What do you want?"

"I need something for Kara for Christmas,"

"And, uh, we're in a store, Vert. There's no better place to buy a present."

Vert was too tired to glare at Alex. "That's not what I meant,"

"I know," Alex laughed, patting Vert roughly on the back. "If you want to steal her heart and keep it, I would put some serious thought into that present."

"But that's why--"

"Good luck!" Alex called back as he weaved through the crowd of people and disappeared into the nearest brand-name clothing store.

"Great," sighed Vert to nobody in particular. His eyebrows met as he glanced down the long hallway one way, then the other, thinking as hard as he could about what Mark said Kara liked. Half of him wanted to chase Alex into the store, and the other wanted to just sit down and wait until he saw another one of Kara's friends. There were about ten people here that he knew for sure, so he didn't see it as too hard to do the latter, but the former guaranteed more results.

"Do you need help?" a female voice behind him questioned. He spun around. A slender girl with blonde hair stood there, a smile crossing her frosted lips.

"I, uh... no, not really," he stuttered. He couldn't control the thoughts that streamed from his brain about this girl, just like the time that he had first saw Kara. _Kara_, Vert slapped himself inwardly, just like Kara would have done if she had been there.

"Right, I heard you talking to that guy," the blonde said, taking a few steps toward him. The way the clothes fit the girl's body made him smile, and he couldn't help but stare. "Who's Kara? Your girlfriend? Sister? Cousin?"

"My... cousin," Vert lied. _You two aren't even really together,_ his mind reasoned, _this is my right_.

_But she likes you,_ the other side argued,_ what would she say if she were here?_

_But she's not, so shut up, _he told both sides. _What she doesn't know won't hurt her._

"Hm," the girl's smile broadened. "I can help you,"

"Really?" Vert asked innocently, smiling back. Suddenly, he didn't feel tired anymore.

"Yes,"

"I don't even know your name," Vert objected, indirectly trying to get closer to her.

"Ashley,"

"Vert,"

_Stop! Think about what you're doing!_ His mind screamed as he allowed the girl to take his hand and lead him through the crowd. He ignored the voice, focusing on the girl in front of him.

**Ooo... I'm gonna let _you_ comment on that one. Just think, there's a reason this sequel is titled what it is. :-p Thank you to my awesomeness reviewers, Rin and Bri, I love you guys--er--girls.**

_**To Rin: DON'T YOU KNOW THOSE STINKIN' THINGS CAN KILL YOU? ARE YOU NUTS?!**_

**Okay, I'm done with that. Please review!**


	4. Meet the Step Cousins

**Seven Ways to Break a Racer's Heart**

**Disclaimer: Bah, check the past three chapters.**

**Summary: Check the past three chapters for that also.**

**A/N: Happy Holidays. This is everybody's present. **

Chapter Four: Meet the Step Cousins

Kara sat on the couch, her thumb pulsing in a rhythmic pattern on the channel button. Yes, four-hundred channels are nice for a rainy day, but it wasn't raining outside, and every time Kara stopped to watch something, it felt awkward without somebody to talk to. Finally, the sound of the garage door opening in the car bay relieved her boredom and gave her something to go do. Jess was already down there working on her own car, so it shouldn't be a problem, right?

Making her way to the door, she steadily rising voices coming up toward her. She reached for the door handle, only to find it not there. Instead, she saw her brother... with his arm wrapped around the waist of a certain friend of hers.

"Hey... Kara," Alex choked.

"Hey yourself," Kara replied snuggly, even though inside, she was throwing up. He always managed to seduce her friends, which made her wonder if she had that gene also. _If I do_, she told herself, _it sure isn't helping me any._

"Um," Alex bit his lip, ready for his sister to burst out violently.

Kara sighed, "Where is everybody?"

"Back at the mall," Alex said timidly.

"Thanks,"

Alex relaxed and started past his sister.

"Alex?" Kara asked, trying to make her voice sound intimidating.

"Yes?" Alex peeped.

"Josh is up in his room,"

"Oh... wait, Josh is here?" Alex turned, but Kara had already gone.

------------------------------

Kara smiled pleasantly as she opened the door of her car, drawing her keys noisily from her pocket, but a thought stilled her hand as she reached to put it the key in the ignition.

_I can't go_, her conscience told her, _it might ruin Christmas._

Drawing away, she reclined her chair and relaxed. The seat was warm and she was stretched out enough to where she was tempted by sleep. It was _very_ tempting. So tempting, in fact, that before she knew it, her consciousness had slipped away.

------------------------------

_"This was a great idea," Kara heard herself retort. It was another hazy memory from the past few years that was coming back in the form of a dream. "Invite the step cousins, Kara, it's the right thing to do. Come on, Alex, when have you ever done the right thing?"_

_Alex gave his sister a reassuring look. "The four of them are _supposedly_ some of the best in New York. Derek recommended them himself."_

_"But he never gave specifics, Al... this could be a giant mistake. They've always had the money for their cars. They've never had to work a day in their life. They are _uber_ rich kids that _believe_ that they can race. When they get here, they are really gonna get a slap in the face, and, even though I've never met them, I'm sure they deserve it."_

_"Kara--"_

_"Gah, shuddup Al," Kara said._

_There was silence for a second. "At least they're bringing their own cars,"_

_Kara smiled as they pulled into the parking lot of the Los Angeles Airport. If it had another name, they ignored it. This wasn't the ideal place for two teenagers, who happen to steal cars, to hang out. They had only been there twice their whole lives, avoiding it ever since the giant incident of 9/11 due to increased security._

_"There they are," Alex pointed out, motioning toward the cars that idled near the loading docks. Four people leaned up against their own separate vehicle. _

_"Great," Kara snorted, blowing air out of her nose. "What's with the matching cars and outfits?" _

_Alex smothered a chuckle as they stepped out of Kara's Mustang GT. "Are you suckers _trying_ to get shot?" he called over the wind that swept over the busy runway to the four siblings. _

_Kara rolled her eyes at her brother. "Are you trying to pit them against us already?"_

_"Why not?"_

_"Excuse me?" the tallest male said. He was was drastically different than his three siblings and obviously the oldest. His midnight black hair stood out among his blonde kin, but all their eyes were the same. The same cold green. All of their cars were fairly similar, also. They had the same color scheme, but with different designs, like their outfits. _

_Next to him stood two girls, one had white-blonde, short, spikey hair, and the other's hair was long, but layered to an extreme. The last was a guy with the same hair and outfit as the former girl. Twins._

_"He doesn't know what he's talking about. The doctors think he has Turrets Syndrom, but personally, I think he's just stupid." Kara smirked. Alex shot a look at her that said 'I can't believe you' written all over it. None of the siblings cracked a smile. An uncomfortable silence fell between the two groups._

_"Tough crowd," Alex muttered._

_"You got that right," Kara agreed. _

_"Since this conversation is going nowhere fast, I might as well speed it up myself." He stepped away from the car and walked toward Kara. She finally got a good look at him. He was slim, but his jacket covered his arms and his pants were to baggy to make out if he had any definition to his body, and he was definitely taller than Kara._

_"Sounds good," Kara said, offering her hand. _

_"Asano Thorton," he said, shaking her hand._

_"Asano... isn't that Japanese?"_

_"Um, yeah... our parents liked foreign and exotic names. You are?"_

_"I'm thinking you already know my name, but I'll tell you anyway for the sake of the moment, I'm Kara Tezla."_

_Kara smiled. She was beginning to feel this wasn't going to be so bad. _

_"Come on Sano, get us out of here," nagged one of the girls. _

_"How about we finish introductions back at the HQ because there are plenty of others to... get to know." _

_Asano turned to leave._

_"Oh, wait, I forgot, this is Alex, my... so-called twin." Kara said. Asano turned and looked at Alex. _

_"Derek told us we would be greeted by twins."_

_"Well, then, Derek's just spiffy then, isn't he?" Alex said in a valley-girl tone of voice. _

_"Just follow us back," Kara directed, pulling herself back into the Mustang. This was going to be a long month._

------------------------------

Back at the mall, little did Kara know, Vert was busy. After walking around the crowded mall with the blonde, whose name had turned out to be Ashley, he decided to show her his pride and joy: Reverb. His conscience was now being seduced by sweet, cherry lips. When she finally had to go, he felt the nagging guilt return. What had he done?

**Pshaw people. The four Thorton siblings will be coming in the real story later. They are some interesting people to say the least... thank you to my reviewers, Kawaii, Fenrir's Daughter, and Sabrielle. I am very greatful! Love your story Fen!**

_**Asano (if you read Bleach, yes you will recognize this name) – Ah-sah-no**_


	5. Already Over

**Seven Ways to Break a Racer's Heart**

**Disclaimer: Bah, check the first, second, or third chapter. BUT! I do not own the song Already Over because it belongs to Red. I wish I owned Red.**

**Summary: Check the chapters listed above for that also.**

Chapter Five: Already Over

_"You never go..._

_You're always here._

_Suffocating me, _

_Under my skin._

_I cannot run away..._

_Fading slowly..."_

Kara rubbed her eyes to the tune of her newest favorite song. She had been asleep nearly an hour, but the dream seemed to only last a second. Already Over, a song she had discovered on the radio, pounded through her head like an alarm as the loud guitars and yelling voices bounced off her ear drums. Even through the music was blasting at an earsplitting level, she still heard the mechanical garage door opening before she saw it.

_"I give it all to you_

_Letting go of me._

_Reaching as I fall_

_I know it's already over now."_

Reverb burst into the unnatural light of the car bay from the dark. Several clumps of snow trailed in its wake. Kara watched through her own open Ferrari-style door. Vert stepped out, his collar riding unusually high on his neck. Something clicked in Kara's mind, but it wasn't enough to make her investigate.

_"Nothing left to lose, _

_Loving you again._

_I know it's already over,_

_Already over now."_

Seemingly ignoring Kara and her loud music, he walked briskly toward the steps. It made Kara think, but, with the music so loud, her thoughts didn't develop very far. One part of her wanted to run after him and maybe scare him, but another part was rational and told her to not hurry after him. The last side wanted to just sit and see how it all played out.

_"My best defense..._

_Running from you._

_Cost me everything._

_I can't resist._

_Take all you want from me._

_Breaking slowly..."_

Reluctantly, she reached over and turned down the music when Josh appeared in the doorway to the house. He called down to her as he descended the steps. "You do know its nine o'clock, Kara."

"No, I didn't, but, then again, I've been sleeping," Kara replied as Josh sauntered toward her.

"Sleeping? Through that noise you call music?"

Kara frowned. "You don't like it?"

"It's loud,"

"Hm, I'm glad you think so."

_"I give it all to you_

_Letting go of me._

_Reaching as I fall,_

_I know it's already over now."_

Josh swung over the hood expertly and sat in the passenger's seat. "Who was that blonde that just walked in?"

"Vert," Kara answered flatly. There was something suspicious about him, but, then again, this was the first time in years she'd seen him in normal jeans and a t-shirt.

"Oh,"

"Josh? Do you remember Dad's step-sister? Aunt Corinne?"

"How could I _not_?"

"Do you remember her kids?"

"Those four? Gosh... I probably remember them better than you guys do. You were just toddlers when we first met them."

"Isn't Asano your age?"

"Yes, I think so, and Osara's your age. Then there's the twins..."

"You don't need to bring them up; I was just wondering if you remembered them."

_"Nothing left to lose,_

_Loving you again._

_I know it's already over,_

_Already over now."_

"Do you remember the one time when Uncle Pete had a girlfriend?"

"No, that must have been forever ago."

"It was... sort of," Josh sat back, looking at the roof of the car. "It was... ten years ago, so, I guess you _might _not remember. She was a nerd."

"I would thinks so," Kara giggled.

"She dumped him."

"Really?"

"Yup,"

_"You're all I'm reaching for..._

_It's already over._

_All I'm reaching for..._

_It's already over now._

_I give it all to you,_

_I offer up my soul._

_It's already over,_

_Already over... now._

_I know it's already over,_

_Already over now."_

Kara reached up and took the keys out of the ignition as the song ended. She had a sneaking suspicion something wasn't right. The feeling just wouldn't go away. "I'm going to go in the house," she told Josh.

"Are you sure?" Josh asked, nervously glancing down at his watch.

Frowning, she answered, "Yes," and made her way to the steps.

------------------------------

Inside, Vert was trying as hard as he could do disguise the hickies that stood out on his neck. This was bad. This was _very _bad. He cursed loudly as there was a knock on his bedroom door.

"I... who is it?" he asked.

"Why do you need to know?" Alex sassed from the other side of the door.

"Thank God," Vert breathed, heading to the door and opening it.

"Vert, I have a... holy crap!"

"Shh!" Vert grabbed Alex's shirt and pulled him inside before he could announce anything else. The door shut with an obnoxious _SLAM!_ and Alex was thrown to the bed.

"Who...?" Alex started, but a smirk found its way onto his face.

"What are you... no, you idiot!" Vert hissed. "Why do you think I would pull you in here if it Kara was the cause of this?!"

Puzzled, Alex asked, "Then who?"

"That _is not_ important. I need your help."

"What makes you think I can help?"

"I'm thinking you've been in this situation before. What did you do?"

"What situation? Hiding hickies from my sister?"

"No!" Vert exploded.

"Fine," Alex chuckled, "I _can_ help you, and I will, but only because I know you're going to have to face Kara sooner or later. Then she'll kill you. Just don't put my name in it."

"I'd prefer that it be later, Al,"

"You stay here, and I'll be right back. I have a magic kit for this kind of stuff," Alex opened the door, looking both ways in the dark hallway before slipping out and sneaking down the corridor.

Vert swallowed hard. It would probably be a lot less painful to just shoot himself now, but if she didn't find out about this, it would all be just fine. It was not like Ashley was going to call or anything. He didn't give her a phone number.

Minutes later, Alex opened the door again and stepped in. "Kara's still in the garage. I sent Josh down there to make sure that she doesn't come up too soon."

"Josh?"

"Brother,"

"You have another brother?"

Alex flicked off the light and headed toward the lit bathroom door. "We can talk about that later."

Vert walked in after him just in time to see him open a small case. Make-up.

"Now, hold still," Alex said, "this stuff can work miracles if it's applied right. I don't care what everybody says; make-up works for us guys too."

"Okay," Vert agreed, wincing as Alex applied cold lotion to his neck. He didn't really feel anything else.

But, of course, there was the probability that Kara would come while this was happening. And, as it always happens in the movies, it did here. Her timing was perfect.

"Vert?" Kara's voice echoed through the door.

"Almost done," Alex whispered.

"Vert?"

"Answer her," Alex commanded.

"What?" Vert strained, trying not to move.

"Is... everything okay?" Even though it was a concerned question, there was no concern in her voice.

"Um, yeah, I'm in the bathroom. I'll be right out."

Alex smiled. "Perfect," he muttered, "If I hadn't known otherwise, I would have guessed you do this kind of stuff every day."

"Don't say that," Vert growled, "now hide, before she sees you." With that, he turned off the bathroom light, dousing the room in darkness. Fumbling with the lamp, he managed to turn it on without doing any major damage to anything but his hand, which he scratched on the corner of the table when he was trying to find the lamp. Taking a deep breath, he opened the door.

**Hmm... well, thank you to Fenrir's Daughter (you make me laugh) and Kawaii (you also make me laugh! I'll be emailing you back soon)!!**

**Now a chapter preview-thingie is in my profile. So if you're ever curious about what's going to happen next, you can check there. (if I remember to update it!)**


	6. Confessions

**Seven Ways to Break a Racer's Heart**

**Disclaimer: Bah, check the first, second, or third chapter.**

**Summary: Check the chapters listed above for that also.**

**A/N: This is a very emotional chapter. LOTS of dialogue. LOTS of it. Sorry if it's a little weird. It's nine o'clock... just like Josh said in the previous chapter.**

Chapter Six: Confessions

Yet, little did the guys know, Kara was waiting outside the door and had been for the past minute, and she heard some interesting things.

"Vert?" she called after knocking; finally deciding to see what was going on. There was no answer. She thought she heard somebody talking, but blew it off.

"Vert?" she repeated, pressing her hand to the door.

There was another voice this time, she was sure of it.

"What?" was the reply that met her ears.

"Is... everything okay?"

"Um, yeah, I'm in the bathroom. I'll be right out."

Oh. Kara then heard the voice again. She hurriedly pressed her ear to the wood.

"...hadn't known otherwise, I would have guessed you do this kind of stuff everyday."

Kara felt her own eye twitch. She knew that voice. Why was Alex in Vert's bedroom? She looked down, searching for any signs of light coming out from under the door, but there was none. Why were the lights off?

"Oh my..." Kara whispered, a little disturbed. She pressed her ear against the door again.

"Don't say that;"--now it was Vert talking--"now hide, before she sees you."

Kara pulled away from the door, her eyes wandering the dark, empty halls. She didn't know what she was looking for, but this was going to be a little awkward. From inside the room came the clear sound of a collision, then the light came on. The door opened.

"Hi... Kara," Vert said.

Kara's eyes flitted around the room, never making contact with Vert's.

"What... are you looking for something?"

"Some_one_," said Kara, finally looking the blonde in the eye.

"...Who?" Vert croaked.

"A mister Alexander Michael Tezla," Kara brushed past Vert, whose eyes widened.

"Uh... he's not in here. Why would you think he was... in _here_?"

"You're not a very good liar, Vert."

No answer.

"Alex, I'm going to strangle you if you aren't out here in plain sight in five seconds."

"No, you won't," a muffled voice whispered.

"Five,"

"Come on, Kara, we weren't doing anything wrong..." Vert said.

"Four,"

"Listen to him," Alex whimpered.

"Three,"

"Kara!" Vert pleaded. He was sure if she got her hands on Alex's neck, she would not hesitate to do as she promised.

"Two,"

"Kara!" Alex echoed.

"One,"

"Alex..." Vert closed his eyes, and took a seat on the bed.

"Rah!" Kara shouted, pulling open the closet door and using her foot to move several layers of clothes off of her brother.

"Don't hurt me!" Alex squealed, throwing up his arms in defense.

"Kara, we weren't--" Vert entered the closet after Kara.

"Yeah, damn straight you weren't," Kara sneered.

"What?!"

"I don't want to believe it, because, yeah, Alex, the way you were cuddling up to Jess earlier, I never would've."

"What are you talking about?"

"Yeah..." Alex whispered.

"Don't deny it, Al,"

"What?"

"I would have never suspected that you were... I don't even want to say it."

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" Vert asked.

"I am _not_ gay," Alex gasped, insulted.

"What made you think--" Vert tried.

"What _I_ just heard through the door."

Vert and Alex exchanged glances. Alex, whose sudden relief that Kara hadn't found out that Vert had had another engagement that night, turned to disbelief.

"Bloody hell, Kara," he said, standing to face his sister. "I'm very happy to have you as a sister."

"Yeah, I love you too,"

"Kara," Vert sighed, "This isn't your brother's fault."

"It isn't? How is it not?"

Alex gave Vert a look of pleading. He couldn't believe what he was about to do.

"Because... he got into this because of me. It was _all_ me, actually, I asked him to help me."

"Vert--" Alex objected.

"No, she has a right to know... and as you said, she'd find out sooner or later."

"What?" Kara asked quietly, the red flags popping up in her head at an alarming rate.

_Don't listen to him! Run! Run NOW!_ The little voice screamed. _He's going to drop the bomb! He's going to break your heart!_

"I've... I've done something I shouldn't have..." he muttered.

_Listen to me! Get out before he has the chance to say it! You already know what he's going to say!_ Kara blocked out the little voice, hoping what it was saying wasn't true.

"What is it?" she asked again, her voice dropping into a whisper.

"I-I..." he swallowed hard, "There's another girl, Kara..."

_I told you! Don't let him explain! Don't let him say anything else! He'll hurt you, Kara, he'll hurt you REAL bad. Show him. Show him NOW. Run. Break _his_ heart before he does anything else!_

"Alex was in here to help me cover it up..." he closed his eyes, hanging his head. "And... and I have no explanation."

_RUN!_

Kara's eyes suddenly felt dry, and she felt the need to blink excessively and draw tears. She swallowed. It was as she feared.

_Go. Don't let him see you cry!_

"Who...?" she searched his face for some sign that it might be a joke.

"Kara," Alex breathed, his hand settling cautiously on her shoulder. Any other time, she might have possibly hit him for that, but, this time, her body had gone numb. She never heard him.

"I'm sorry now," Vert said.

There was the subtlest movement from Kara.

She shook her head.

_I told you._

Kara's mouth fell open and she looked away. Less than a second later, she strode silently out of the room. Once the door had shut, Vert bit his lip.

"You shouldn't have done that," Alex said.

"I felt like I had to,"

"You could have let me handle it. I would have proved to her--"

"Alex, stop,"

"I'm just saying,"

They both exited the closet. Each one just as upset as the other, but in different ways.

"Good luck getting her back." Alex walked to the door.

Vert chuckled coldly, throwing himself onto the bed. "Is it even possible?"

"Oh, yeah, but it'll take awhile. Don't be surprised if she's gone in the morning."

"What?"

"I'm betting she'll go back to Los Angeles... and, heh, it'll even be harder then, because when she disappears there, she's gone."

"Is there anything you can do?"

"Sorry, dude," Alex gave Vert a small, sympathetic smile and left. Somehow, Vert didn't feel any better. He turned off the light and tried to think. It had seemed like the best thing to do at the time, but it had the worst possible turnout.

**'Kay, there ya go. In the next few chapters we'll be following Kara back to Los Angeles for the next predicament. Yay! Thank you to my reviewers, Wings of Speed (gar! that's not good!! wah! OH!!! before I forget to ask you, how old is Trin if Kara is 19? good luck with the laptop!)... **

**Fenrir's Daughter (yeeeah, Red is new. I'm sure many people haven't heard of them, and i think Kara might have heard you...)... **

**and Kawaii (...fun, homework. never watched cardcaptors, but i have heard of it. i heart alex, if you haven't figured it out yet. he's my favorite character...)**


	7. Sugar and Potato Chips

**Seven Ways to Break a Racer's Heart**

**Disclaimer: Bah, check the first, second, or third chapter.**

**Summary: Check the chapters listed above for that also.**

**A/N: This chapter is mostly a filler chapter... because it's so noisy in here. AKA Vacuum going... TV going... Sister's music going...**

Chapter Seven: Sugar and Potato Chips

Several hours later, Alex felt compelled to comfort his sister. He didn't know why. Maybe it was brotherly instinct. At three in the morning. He entered the hallway and moved down to his sister's door, knocking gently when he arrived.

"...Kar? You in there?" he asked attentively.

No reply.

"Kara,"

Still no reply. It didn't surprise him at all.

"I... I'm coming in," he said firmly, turning the doorknob. The room was dark all except for the window, which gave off a little pale light. He couldn't see them, but he knew that it was snowing again.

"Kara," he whispered. It was cold in the room, but that didn't stop him from going in further.

"Alex..." he heard Kara breathe. "Please don't tell Vert where I'm going... or what I look like."

"What?" Alex looked frantically around the room, finally spotting a dark form behind the mesh-like curtains that surrounded her bed. "What do you mean 'what you look like?'"

"I shouldn't even be telling you this... actually, I change my mind. I'm not going to tell you what I'm going to be 'looking like,' because I don't think you need to know."

"You don't trust me,"

Kara's silence confirmed his statement.

"I don't blame you," Alex parted the netting and sat near his sister's feet.

"I know why your here, Al, and I don't need comforting. Actually, I'm quite comfortable at the moment. Relieved, if you will,"

"...Well, I just... I see,"

"It's happened so many times," Kara propped herself up so she could look her brother in the eyes. "I just think I'm becoming immune to the pain. Maybe I thought this time would be different, but I was wrong. I can't believe I actually convinced myself to believe that."

"You can't really truly trust guys, Kara, believe me, I am one."

"Yeah... hearing it from you, well, it's not making me feel any better, no offense, of course. In fact, I don't need any more convincing on that fact. I know well enough by now,"

Alex nodded, leaning against the bed post behind him. "When are you leaving?"

"Tonight," she smiled, "I already called Mark. He's expecting me by tomorrow night."

"Well, tell him I said hi,"

"Will do... oh, and he says the Steps are in town."

"Thortons?"

"Yup,"

"Wow," Alex stood seemed to drift to the door. "Don't be surprised if I end up heading out there myself." He chuckled, stepping out the door. Kara heard one last "_Those suckers..._" from her brother before the door shut. She grinned.

------------------------------

Dawn came and went without any of the racers seeing even a fleeting glimpse of Kara. Vert had stopped by after breakfast just to make sure it was true. The bedroom was empty of several items; her car keys, several articles of clothing, miscellaneous personal things, and, most importantly, Kara herself. Several other people were also missing, including Trinity's gang, the Metal Maniacs, Jess and Whit Highst, and the two newbies, Damian and Andrew.

"Who?" Alex asked when he heard the names.

"Two seventeen-year-olds that we brought back from the... military base," Vert answered, because he was the only one that could at the time.

"Newbies? Where'd they go?"

"Why do you think I know?"

"Well... never mind,"

------------------------------

"Oh... my... gosh," Jess' distressed voice whined over the cell phone. "If I have to spend another stinkin' minute with this kid... what's his name?"

"Andrew," Kara drawled, keeping her eyes focused on the road.

"Andrew! Shut up!"

"What's going on?"

"He's _singing_! The next stop, I'm giving him to Whit. If that doesn't happen, he's going to be _crying_."

"Fine,"

"Who's the kid that Whit has?"

"Damian,"

"Oh, the red-head? He doesn't seem too bad..."

"You said that about Andrew, Jess, and look where it's got you."

"True,"

The three cars passed a semi-truck. "Hold on, Jess, I've got another call," Kara said, putting her friend on hold. She looked at the screen. It was Whit.

"What do _you_ want?" she asked, moving into the very left hand lane of the three-lane highway.

"GET THIS KID OUT OF MY CAR!" Whit exclaimed, startling Kara and almost making her lose control of the car.

"Woah, hold on, dude," Kara said, grabbing the phone and holding it at arms length away. Whit's yelling suddenly became a tiny voice. She switched back to Jess. "That was your brother... I'm going to hook you up with him." Before the brunette could object, Kara connected the lines and hung up. They were already half way to Los Angeles at four in the afternoon. If they kept going at this rate, they would make it by midnight.

"Geez," Kara said a couple hours later as the five of them stretched at a gas station. "What twelve hours in a car can do to you... but we shaved an hour off, luckily. Three hours until we hit the city." She looked to her right and jumped. "Andrew... what do you want?"

"I'm thirsty,"

"Stop acting like a three-year-old and say please."

"I'm thirsty, _please_,"

Kara laughed and pulled a five dollar bill out of her pocket. "Knock yourself out, kid,"

Andrew and Damian sprinted inside. Kara finished pumping the gas and walked over to where Jess and Whit were standing.

"How's it going?" she grinned.

"Noisy..." Jess moaned.

"If they're in there buying sugar, I'm gonna punch them so hard their Grandma's gonna feel it." Whit sneered.

"Three hours!" Kara called back as she walked back to her Grand Prix. Simultaneous groaning met her ears as the two teenagers came out, carrying several sugar-filled items in their arms and skipping happily.

"Sugar!" exclaimed Damian.

"And po-ta-to chips!" sang Andrew.

"Potato chips? You're with me, buddy," Whittaker smiled, pushing the brunette toward Hydrogen, his most prized car.

"No..." moaned Jess as Damian bounced his way into Oxygen, her car.

Kara felt sorry, but at the same time, it was funny. She laughed out loud before shutting the door.

**Okay, so I have about ten chapters saved on the computer right now from doing nothing all Christmas Break. I had to read back over this chapter. Damian and Andrew are fun... and a piece of work. Of my imagination, that is. They are the children of my randomness.**

_**Trinity! ...yeah, I put them out... fast, I guess. Once or twice a week. I have so many backed up. Laptop Cute? You've got to be kidding me. Our laptop drives me nuts. Maybe it being five or six years old has something to do with it... hm. Well, then, I'll have her be 18 for now... since Kara is three months older than Vert. (technically, I'm assuming, since I don't know is ACTUAL birthday)**_

_**Kawaii! I'm sending your chapters back to you all nice and spiffy like. Don't worry... I'm not going to send a Racing Drone Hybrid thingy after you. If anything, the Evil Carrots will be coming to gnaw on your arms. With Sporks. (i'll send you a pic if I remember. I heart Evil Carrots) Yes... ADD you've mentioned...**_

_**Fen! Closet Jokes! I'm guessing the fact that Alex was hiding IN a closet doesn't make it sort of ironic? **_


	8. HQ Retrieval

**Seven Ways to Break a Racer's Heart**

**Disclaimer: Bah, check the first, second, or third chapter.**

**Summary: Check the chapters listed above for that also.**

**A/N: Yeah... I think this might be one of the best chapters yet in descriptiveness! A lot of questions might pop up...**

Chapter Eight: HQ Retrieval

"Kara, Kara, Kara, it's always Kara and never Alex," Alex whined. "'Come on, Alex, pick it up,' or 'come on, you can move faster than that, Al,'" he muttered, heading up the staircase to the second level of the mansion. It was actually forbidden to go up these steps, but Alex didn't care. His uncle seemed to always reside at the top in the one-room 400 square foot loft, if you could call it that. It was huge. No wonder his uncle never came down. He probably had a stock pile of food up there.

"Uncle Pete!" Alex called, knocking on the door. There was no reply, so he tried louder. "Uncle _Peter_! Open up," he pounded on the door with his fist. When there was still no answer, he turned the doorknob cautiously. It was hard to believe that he left it unlocked.

"Un-cle Peeeeter," Alex stepped inside. It was a complete mess. Stacks of papers hid what Alex thought might be a desk. An unmade bed filled a corner. One window, covered by a giant, thick blanket stretched across the middle of the wall adjacent from the door. The room was unusually dark, but a single black light stretched across the wall where it met the ceiling on his right, casting an eerie, science fiction glow over the contents of the room. Two doors were on his left, which, Alex thought, was weird because he'd always thought there'd been only one room. _Probably a bathroom... and a closet,_ Alex concluded.

"Uncle Pete?" he asked again, taking slow steps toward the 'desk' that was surrounded by the stacks of paper. Some stacks went as high as his chest. The first of these that he came to had a sticky note, yellow and peeling, stuck to the top labeled _Equilibrium_. Alex smiled as he ran his finger over the dusty paper on top. It had a bunch of those symbols on it that he was supposed to be learning in Calculus, but was too busy sleeping.

The next stack, though, had no dust. It came up to around Alex's waist and was labeled _Equilateral Disk_. Alex squinted, his eyebrows coming together in a shallow V. The paper on top was easier to understand, because it was written in plain English, but he would need an advanced dictionary to decode most of the words. Or Kara. She was the one who actually paid attention in school. He lifted off the top ten pages or so and shoved them up his shirt, putting the sticky note on the next page.

Next, Alex glanced around the room. There was nothing else that really caught his eye, so he headed for the door. The room itself seemed to watch him, and it was creeping him out.

"Alex?" a curious voice asked. Alex, who hadn't been paying any attention to the door, practically ran into his uncle. There was no biosuit.

"I... uh... hi, I was just leaving,"

"I'm sure you were,"

"You're... not wearing that funky, robot suit,"

"No... I don't believe I need that 'funky, robot suit' any more."

"Oh... well, it's nice seeing you!" Alex exclaimed, brushing past his uncle and running full speed down the steps.

"Alex," Tezla said, stopping Alex in his tracks.

_Crap! He must have seen the papers_, Alex thought. "Yes?"

"Why were you in my room?"

"I was... oh, I almost forgot to tell you, Kara left this morning."

"I know,"

Alex cocked his head, but Tezla had already stepped inside his room and shut the door. "He... already knew?"

------------------------------

"No way..." Mark Anderson ran his fingers through his brown, unruly hair. "You did _not_ just... oh my gosh,"

"Stop acting like you're so surprised," Kara breathed.

"But I am! You've never done anything so _drastic_ before, Kara!"

Kara stood outside Joseph Wright's house, looking at her brother's best friend freak out. Whit and Jess had taken Andrew and Damian to the suburbs to find used cars that they could drive until they proved that they wouldn't total a car within the same month that they got it.

"Mark, who is it?" echoed Adrianna from the living room.

"Er... Kara,"

"Is she staying here too?"

"No," Kara called. "I have my own house, you know,"

She heard Adrianna chuckle.

"Well... I like it, I guess," Mark said, leaning up against the doorway.

Kara reached up and ran her fingers through her own hair. It had been cut to a length just below her jaw-line. It had several different shades of red and blonde in it now besides the normal brown. Her eyes had changed from hazel to a sparkling blue-grey thanks to a pair of colored contacts.

"It's different..." Kara agreed quietly. "Anywho, do you mind if you give the newbies street driving lessons?" Mark opened his mouth to answer, but Kara lifted her hand. "Before you _say_ anything, think, moron."

There was a few seconds of silence before "It's fine, I'll do it,"

"You still didn't think about it did you?"

"Some of the best moves are made on impulse," Mark smiled.

"And some of the worst moves are made without thinking," Kara told him and left.

------------------------------

Loud music thumped through the ground and came up through the tires of Kara's Grand Prix. The sound hadn't yet reached her ears, but when it did, it was loud. Her former headquarters was a cheap 24-hour club, which made her wonder what had become of the three cars. The former-brunette had tried to con Mark into coming with her, but she couldn't do it. He said he had 'other things' to do. But, as always, there was somebody willing to come instead. Within a couple calls, she had a partner.

Mitchell Halloway, a burly 21-year-old with fairly short, black hair, stood three inches taller than his boss. She had chosen him because she needed intimidation on her side. He stepped out of the passenger's side and squinted at the building. "Who would have the guts to take over a gang's HQ?" he asked, his green eyes gazing into Kara's new blue-grey ones.

"Well, we're about to find out, Mitch," Kara said, pulling her hair back into a tight ponytail. Most of the hair fit, much to Kara's surprise, but more than a few strands grouped around her face after she moved.

The pair walked to the entrance, flashing ID to the bouncer to give him a reason to slide open the door. The sound hit the two like a wall of bricks, but they didn't back down. Forcing their way through the sound, they headed into the main area, which used to be the main car bay. A giant mass of moving bodies filled their vision. It was dark and many different colored strobe lights flashed at intervals on the walls. A counter had been built haphazardly into the wall on their right from behind which a giant bartender loomed surrounded by hundreds of bottles of various kinds of alcohol. He stared firmly at Kara, who countered with an icy glare, thanks to her new eyes.

Mitch was the first one to notice something. Bumping Kara with his elbow, he motioned to the upper level, where the smaller rooms were located. The balcony over the car garage had been glassed in. Several black lights filled the second level walkway and the rooms. Most of the walls had been knocked out and replaced with couches and televisions.

_They must have made the whole second level soundproof!_ Kara thought in amazement. There was no reason to have television if you couldn't hear it. From the floor, she could barely see a football game going on on the big-screen TV. Seven o'clock was fast approaching, and the sunlight that could barely be seen when the bouncer opened the door was soon replaced by an outdoor artificial light. After standing there for what seemed like minutes, she put her hand on Mitch's arm and motioned that she was going to talk to the bartender. He followed her over to the makeshift bar.

"Can I help you?" the burly man's rough voice asked over the music. To Kara's surprise, his voice was still audible. His face told her that he still remembered the glare.

"Yes... I need to see the owner," Kara said, staying as unreadable as possible. She hoped Mitch was doing the same.

"What for?"

Kara thought for a split second, choosing her words carefully. "There seems to be a problem with the property. The previous owners seem to think it's still theirs..."

"And what if you don't see the boss? Whatta gonna do about it?"

"The... previous owners... will be paying a visit if I don't come back with some kind of reasoning. You don't want to meet them."

The bartender raised his eyebrows. "No can do, girlie,"

"Are you sure?" Kara cocked her head, prying deep into the man's eyes.

"No, but I'm not gonna bother the man with something as insignificant as a gang."

"Gang?" Kara asked innocently. "Who said anything about a gang?"

"Come on, miss, everybody knows this place used to belong to the most dangerous gangstress in LA. She's dead. There is no way the rest of her group could come back and take this place."

"Once again, I ask, are you _sure_ you don't want me do see your boss? This might end badly, and it'll be all your fault."

The bartender sighed, looking away for a second. "Look, just go over to the other side, there... there's a door. Three knocks, tell him Rio sent you and you need to see a _Mister_ Tyler."

"Thanks," Kara grinned. Before departing across the dance floor, she slipped the man a $100 bill. "That's from the higher-ups," she told him.

Leaning over to Mitch, she told him what they were doing. When he asked what had happened, she told him not to worry about it. The duo weaved through the bouncing crowd, each of them catching looks from both of the sexes that gave different meanings. By the time Kara got to the door, she didn't know if it was better for her to leave or to stay. It also made her wonder what kind of person "Mister Tyler" was.

Kara knocked three times, causing a small panel to slide open. Two dark eyes peered out of the slit.

"Rio sent me to see a Mister Tyler?" she inquired loudly. The panel shut and the door slid open. A short Latino stood there, waiting for the two of them to enter. It was time to get her HQ back.

**Hmba! Face-kicking-awesome-ness! The next chapter will be up really soon.**

_**Trin: Yeah... so should I be expecting your next chapter soon? I hope so! Candy! If you seriously want to know where everyone has gone, just tell me and I'll PM you. If you don't, you'll have to wait a few chapters. **_

_**Fen: I'm gonna start calling you Fen. It's cool like that. I hope your question is answered soon.**_


	9. StepCousin Number One

**Seven Ways to Break a Racer's Heart**

**Disclaimer: Bah, check the first, second, or third chapter.**

**Summary: Check the chapters listed above for that also.**

**A/N: Yeah... sorry if ya'll want to see more of Vert and the gang... they'll have to wait. There are a few important things that need to be arranged in LA before we can get back to them, but this has been my favorite chapter so far!! Very action-y!**

Chapter Nine: Step-Cousin Number One

Kara stepped into the dark hallway, almost stumbling on the steps, which were, like the walls, painted black. A little farther up the staircase, the black lights started, illuminating the stairs to the top and turning to move along the glassed-in walkway. She remembered this stairwell like it was yesterday.

The small, Latino man pushed the door back into place, muting the sound. That didn't stop the bass from coming through the floor, though. At the top of the stairs, the faint sounds of the football game reached her ears.

"Jason, dude, I'll bet you fifty bucks the Bears will lose this game," a male voice stated loudly.

"Cor, they've already lost," another guy countered.

Silence. A whistle blew.

"Where's Reisha?" the second voice asked more quietly than the first time.

"She's out with O," the first voice droned. "That guy is trouble, if you ask me."

"You got that right, but she's just like her brother. If Omar gets them into trouble, she'll know what to do."

"Yeah... she may not be beautiful, but she sure is smart."

"What?! Who said she wasn't pretty?"

"Jason," a third, different voice cut in. "Stop defending her, you _know_ she'll never like you. You're just not her type,"

"And how do you know, Mister Ladies Man?"

Kara had made it to the top of the stairs long ago and was watching the conversation unfold between the three guys from around the corner. She couldn't see any faces, but, in some way, the voices were familiar. The glow from the black lights and the television off set their hair, skin, and clothing in a multicolored picture of confusion. This lead Kara to duck back behind the wall; the colors giving her a headache.

She glanced down the stairs. The Latino had disappeared, probably into what used to be Mark's 'office' space off to the side. She had better get a move on before she was caught eavesdropping.

Stepping out into the black light of the hallway, she took a deep breath.

"I just do," the third guy was saying. "Women around here don't want a gentleman, Jay. You have to be a little imposing--"

Kara had moved slowly into the room and finally caught the eye of the guy speaking. She had slid her two-toned sunglasses on, hiding her eyes. Glancing at the window, she estimated it had to be at least an inch thick to keep out the club music like that.

"Who are you?" the third guy asked flippantly.

"I'm here--" Kara started.

"Yeah, yeah, to see Mister Tyler. I've already heard that song sung twice today. What I want to know is your _name_, woman."

"My name isn't important at the moment. I'm here on behalf of the previous owners of this warehouse." Kara sighed, becoming extremely irritated at the guy's tone of voice. If she wasn't playing a role, the real Kara would have come right out and kicked the guy.

He laughed. "Hey, Cor, this is a new one, she says she--"

"I heard her, Ken," the first guy said as the television flickered off, leaving everything under a blue blanket of light. He turned on the couch to face Kara. "The former owners, huh? Pretty brave coming alone like this... usually girls come with some of their friends."

"And they're usually giggling uncontrollably." the guy who Kara figured to be Jason said.

Puzzled, Kara opened her mouth to ask what he was talking about, but stopped. She hadn't seen Mitch on the staircase up, but had thought nothing of it. It had never crossed her mind, but he was still probably back on the dance floor. Glancing out the windows, she saw to her horror that the cars that she might have called precious less than two months ago were still out on the dance floor, but might be a little less precious now that huge dents could be visible in their sides.

"Well? What do you _really_ want?" the guy asked. "If you're coming here for the _former owners_, you must not have heard. The Tezla's... or should I say, Tezla, split after his sister died. The rest of the gang dispersed. There is no way any of the remaining people could take over what she left. Not even that good-for-nothing brother of hers," he said, causing the third guy to laugh.

Kara felt anger well up inside her. It felt good that her plan had actually worked, but, even if she was dead, it was horrible that she couldn't do anything about it. _She_ was the only one who got to talk about her brother like that. ...Or maybe she _could _do something about it. There was a .45 caliber pistol right under her sweatshirt that was starting to feel real friendly.

_No_, she reassured herself, _it's way to risky to shoot this guy right here. Both of the other guys could be armed and ready if something happens. Man, I wish Mitch had stuck with me. I'm gonna kill him when I see him next._

"You know, that is a really good lie, though," said the third guy. "If we hadn't known the truth, it might have worked."

"You're wrong," Kara chuckled, reaching up and pulling her glasses off. "But if I hadn't have known the truth, you probably would have got me."

"What are you talking about?" the second guy asked. Kara knew that voice.

"Jason, please tell me you don't recognize me," she asked, looking him in the eyes.

"I... I can't say I know you, if that's what you mean... and how do you know my name?" he stuttered.

"Great," Kara smiled. She knew exactly who it was, and, for the first time, she was thankful that one of her 'assistants' hadn't followed orders. The second voice had turned out to be Mitchell Halloway's little brother, Jason. Kara had only heard stories and seen pictures, but she was almost positive that this was him. He sounded just like Mitch, and his face and build was similar to his brother's.

"What do you mean, 'I'm wrong,'" the guy on the couch in front of her, or 'Cor' as the other guys had called him, stood, coming eye to eye with Kara. A shadow fell across his face, letting her see his true identity. Solid brown eyes met Kara's fake ones and blonde, straight hair covered his head, lying flat and just covering bits of his ears.

"I mean, Alex isn't a good-for-nothing brother," Kara slipped. She had spoken without thinking. Great. Now she was a hypocrite.

'Cor' burst out in a fit of laughter. "And I suppose you've met him? Or maybe you _are _Kara Tezla... or you _think _you are, come to avenge her death? Come on, my cousin told me he _himself_ gave the order for her murder... or 'accident,' as he likes to call it."

Kara's eyes grew as the realization of the situation came to focus. "You're Aaron Sheckler's cousin?"

"None other than... but I'd have to say, I wish he would have let her live. I heard she was quite the eye-catcher. Aaron talked a lot about her." He crossed his arms. "Now, before we wander too far off the point we started at, let's get back to it. Why are you here?"

_To punch your stupid lights out,_ Kara's little voice said.

"I stand with by my first statement," she forced out.

"You've got to be kidding me, right?" the third guy asked, also standing.

_Kendred..._ Kara thought, almost physically gasping. His hair was a white-blonde, corresponding nicely with those oh-so cold green eyes. They were sharp, just as she remembered them.

"Oh, and I suppose you don't recognize me, either?" Kara retorted.

"Why should I? I don't associate with _dirty_ messengers from people to afraid to show their own face."

That hit home. Kara had to hold herself back from punching her own cousin... or maybe he would like to stay referred to as a step-cousin.

"Kendred Thorton, what would your mother think?" Kara shouted impulsively. This time she allowed a small "Oh..." to pass her lips a few seconds afterward. Before she could react, Kendred had leaped over the couch and forcefully pushed her backwards into the wall.

"Who the hell do you think you are?!" he shouted. Kara was in shock as his hands found her own throat. Her whole body had gone numb. She had not just contradicted herself _two _times in a row, but she had allowed herself to be physically attacked without trying to defend herself. A strong squeeze around her windpipe brought her back to reality.

Kara's hands flew up to Kendred's wrists, attempting to pry them away to no avail. Both of the other guys walked up behind and watched on as Kendred started to constrict her breathing.

"I..." she let out in a small gasp. "I'm..."

"You're who? Who are you?!"

Black spots danced in Kara's vision as if mocking her for not being strong enough, but the pain kept her in reality. "Kara Tezla..." she breathed with what little air she had left in her lungs. "I'm Kara Tezla,"

**Okay, I'm sorry for not updating after bragging about my stockpile of chapters. They're just sitting there, waiting to be posted. It's been BELOW FREEZING and I swear we've gotten a BILLION inches of snow, but there hasn't been a snowday yet. It is snowing as I am speaking. Also holding my back, I've taken under yet another beta-ing job and started my first book that I'm determined to finish even if it kills me. If you want to read it, go to my profile and click on the link to my other profile on fictionpress, where, hopefully, I will remember to put up the chapters.**

_**Trin: Ah! Update! Update-ness! Yeah... I wish Kara could kick somebody's face in.**_

_**Kawaii: Wow... exams seem so far back! It's been awhile!**_

_**Fen: I love your one-liners that you give me! Lots of OCs, but the normal characters are coming back in soon. Don't worry. But it makes me uber nervous.**_


	10. Return of the Murderer

**Seven Ways to Break a Racer's Heart**

**Disclaimer: Bah, check the first, second, or third chapter.**

**Summary: Check the chapters listed above for that also.**

**A/N: This is going to be a long chapter, because I felt like writing, and I couldn't find a good place to leave off. : ) A whole seven pages! (2700 words)**

Chapter Ten: Return of the Murderer

"I'm Kara Tezla," Kara gasped. Her vision was starting to blur, but that wasn't for long.

"What...?" Kendred whispered, dropping her. Literally.

Coughing, Kara collapsed at the feet of her cousin. She tried to swallow, but her throat wouldn't let her. Her hands flew up as she sat back and happily supplied as much oxygen as her brain needed.

"_She's _your cousin?" Jason exclaimed.

"I... I--no! She's not! She has to be lying." Kendred stuttered, obviously flustered. "You said yourself she's dead, Corban,"

"That's just what Aaron told me," Corban stated calmly, crossing his arms.

"Which... of you guys... is Tyler?" Kara managed to say between coughs and gasps.

"That would be him," Jason volunteered, pointing to Corban. He squatted so he could look her in the eye. "Are you really Kara Tezla? I've always heard you had brown eyes... and long hair," he gushed.

"Amazing what a haircut and contacts will do, Jay," Corban said, "I bet everything I have that she is, in fact, the real thing. It would make sense, and, from what Aaron says, she's the best death escape artist in the business... at least, in Los Angeles."

"But he lied," Kendred mentioned. "He lied about killing her."

"Either way, they both fit. He probably _thought_ she died--"

"Is anybody going to let _me_ talk? I'm right here," Kara wheezed roughly, climbing to her feet and rubbing her neck gently, attempting to re-establish circulation.

"Why should--" Kendred started, but was suddenly stumbling backwards, clutching his nose.

"No more questions from you, Kenny," Kara growled, dropping her fist. Her anger levels had dropped noticeably. "Can we sit down?" she asked Corban.

"Sure,"

The small group walked over to the couches and took a seat. Kara took Kendred's seat, and Kendred, still clutching his nose, sat next to Jason.

"I 'ink you broke my 'ose," he moaned, "'anks a lot, 'ara,"

"Ken, where are your siblings?"

He sniffed, and then groaned. "Dia is out with this new guy Joe recruited... Sean... Sean something--" Kara rolled her eyes at this "--but he can't drive, don't worry. Sano is... at home, I believe, and Sara is downstairs."

"Ghandia is helping somebody? Isn't that a little extreme for her?" Corban said, frowning.

"Well... sure,"

"And you brought Osara to the club? That's the other extreme. They should be switched," Kara mentioned, turning to Corban. "Before I forget, you tell _nobody_ that I'm alive; got that? None of you do. If Aaron finds out about this, all three of you are dead--I don't care who told.

"Now--Corban, is it?--the majority of my gang is still in Los Angeles, so--" Kara was suddenly cut off by several gun shots. One of the glass windows shattered inward. She heard one of the guys curse loudly.

Drawing out her own gun, she dropped onto the floor. With the music, it was hard to tell what was going on in the room below, but Kara wasn't feeling all that compelled to crawl over to the open window to check. She could, however, hear the panicked screams of the people below. Moving forward in an army crawl, she peeked over the side. A group of men with guns stood by the bar. Mitch was nowhere in sight.

Glancing around, she noticed that the DJ had disappeared along with everybody else. The record on the turn tables still ran, and the music still pumped through now visible speakers. One of the men saw her and shot in her direction, destroying another window. Kara ducked back out of the way of the bullets. Several entered through the floor where she had been laying seconds earlier.

"Who's down there?" asked Kendred, crawling up beside his cousin. Blood dripped from his nose unchecked now and made small, dark dots on the floor.

"I don't know... I didn't recognize them," Kara told him.

"Corban!" echoed a male voice just as the music died down. "Corban Tyler, get down here right now!"

"Aaron?" Kara whispered.

"No way! He wasn't supposed to be here until midnight," Corban hissed. "I'll be right down!" he called through the broken windows.

"Are you sure you want to go down there?" Jason asked.

"I have to..." Corban replied weakly. "I promised him I would..."

"You _what_? Why?"

"I'm going down now--you guys shouldn't get involved," he stood and walked to the stairs, disappearing into the dark. The three remaining people exchanged worried glances. It was then that Kara noticed that Kendred had a gun drawn also.

"Ken... I didn't think you were like that," she said, nodding to the gun. "I always thought you were strictly cars and women."

"We all have our dirty little secrets," Kendred breathed, giving her a crooked smile and wiping away the blood from under his nose. "Now can you shut--I mean--be quiet so we can hear this?" The threesome scooted to the opening.

"Why'd you have to come in here like this, A? Now I have to pay to get my windows replaced." Corban had reached the ground floor and was walking toward Aaron. His voice wafted up and echoed through the empty room.

"Don't worry about that... we were just after that guy right there," he motioned at a body surrounded on one side by an ever-growing pool of dark liquid.

"Who...?"

"Eh, nobody important. Just getting rid of the Tezla scraps."

_Mitch!_ Kara gasped inwardly.

"Tezla scraps?" Corban asked innocently. Kara secretly crossed her fingers and hoped that he wouldn't tell.

"Her gang..." Aaron grinned, twirling his gun around his index finger, "and everybody connected to her. I want to make sure that she's _all_ gone."

"Uh... who's next?"

Kara smiled. Smart boy.

"I just got her right-hand mechanic's address yesterday, but when I got the call saying that one of her lackeys, Mitchell Halloway, was going to be in town closer than the mechanic, we decided on a hit here."

At the mention of his brother's name, Jason tensed. "Does that mean... he shot Mitch?" Kara heard him say, but was in no position to reply.

"But, guess what? It looks like he was off official business, Cor, because he came with a lady friend. She was seen going up to your room."

"Oh... yeah, her,"

"Did you have fun?"

_Oh my gosh, that pervert... _Kara thought, gritting her teeth. She was beginning to regret all those times she let him slide.

"You have no idea," Corban told him.

Aaron laughed. "Great. Is she still here?"

Kara looked at Kendred, who had a blank look on his face. "This isn't right," she whispered.

"We could shoot him," Kendred offered.

"Are you kidding me? Right now? All three of us would be dead before we killed half of them! I would prefer to live to see another day... a better day to kill him--I wanna kill him more _slowly_."

"Well, sorry, it was just a suggestion,"

"Who else is up there?" Aaron's questions were starting to become more direct.

"Two friends of mine,"

"Well, call them down! Any friend of my cousin's is a friend of mine!"

"Unless they're related to me," Kara hissed.

"Ken! Jay! Come on down here and meet my cousin!" Corban called. "And bring my new lady friend!"

Kara and Kendred, once again, shot worried glances at each other. Jason, on the other hand, was anxious to get down to his brother, so he had already left.

"Don't. Say. Anything. Or I'll kill you. You know I will." Kara warned Kendred.

_At least,_ Kara thought, _Corban didn't actually say my name. Maybe this kid isn't so bad. Or... maybe my threat is actually working?_

The two cousins stood and walked to the staircase and at the same time, carefully concealing their weapons. When they got to the bottom, the door was already open, but the door to Mark's old room was closed. She wondered if the small Latino man was still in there. Jason was standing out by Corban, shaking Aaron's hand. His eyes kept flicking over to the body less than one hundred feet away. He wanted to get to his brother.

"Who is this?" Aaron asked, flashing cigarette-stained teeth. Kara struggled to smile back, supplying a weak grin.

"Kendred Thorton... you can call me Ken, though, everybody else does," Kendred shook Aaron's hand, but he didn't smile. Kara didn't blame him. If Aaron found out who they actually were, they'd be out faster than... well, they'd be out fast. Plus, Aaron's breath was enough to make anyone gag.

Speaking of fast, Kara had to think of a new name, _fast_. "Uh... I'm... Ashley," she said, trying to sound happy.

"It's _very _nice to meet you, Ashley," Aaron said. He was so close that Kara could smell his breath. It almost made her lose her cookies.

Then Aaron's phone rang. He removed a small phone from his pocket and looked at it. As it turned out, he had received a text. Giving a satisfied smirk, he said, "Men, it's time to move. It seems that somebody has found out about our little operation and the mechanic is getting away.

"I'll be back at midnight, Cor, you better be here," he shouted back as he exited the building.

As soon as he was out of sight, Jason broke away from the group and sprinted for his brother. "Mitch!" he screamed. Kara was right behind him.

"Jason," she said as he knelt beside the prone form on the floor.

"No..." the 19-year-old sobbed, collapsing over the body. His knees splashed into his brother's blood, scattering drops everywhere. Kara closed her eyes as they came in contact with Mitch's. They were blank.

"I'm sorry, Jason," Kara whispered.

Jason withdrew off Mitch's body and stood, looking down at Kara. It was the first time she noticed that he was tall, just like his brother. Blood stained his t-shirt and jeans and covered his hands. There was even a little on his face. "I'm going to kill him," he whispered.

"Welcome to the club," Kara agreed. "Just don't let revenge get in the way of your common sense. A lot of good people have died that way--men and women, both, Jay,"

"Kara, we might want to leave," Kendred called. "He's after your friends."

"Do I have a partner?" she asked Jason.

"Anytime, anywhere," he replied.

"Good, because I need you to stay here."

Jason's face went from determination to disbelief. "What?!" he exclaimed.

"You know Osara, right? You and Corban, since he has to stay here anyway, are going to go looking for her. When you find her, give me a call."

"What about Kendred? He's her brother,"

"I need him for something else," Kara said.

"Why--?"

"Get cleaned up Jason, we'll be back," Kara said, her hand resting on Jason's shoulder for a second before walking away. She motioned to Kendred to come with her. "Find Osara," she told Corban before disappearing out the door.

------------------------------

"I just got a call from Mark," Alex said, rushing into his room to find his car keys. "We need to get back to LA,"

"What?" Vert asked, following him in. "What for?"

"Aaron's coming after Joe. He's gone into hiding."

"What about Kara?"

"She's the smartest out of all of them; I'm not worried." Alex rummaged through his dresser, articles of clothing spilling out all over the already non-visible floor.

"How can you _not_ be worried? There's a guy out there looking to kill us all!"

"That's the thing, he thinks she's already dead," Alex said, triumphantly pulling out a small key chain. "You guys can come if you want, but I'd rather the Teku stay here. It's one less thing for me to worry about."

"They can stay, but I'm going," Vert raced to keep up with the brunette.

"Are you sure? If Kara finds out you came with me, you'll be in deeper than you already are."

"She'll never know,"

Alex chuckled. "Oh, okay, if you say so." He turned to the blonde. "Vert, I've lied to my sister before to keep you out of trouble. I'll keep doing it, seeing as though Kara doesn't really trust me anyway, but when it comes down to it, if we're in danger or somebody's going to get killed, I'm not going to cover for you. Stay out of the way while we're over there, and only come out when this whole thing is over. If Kara really still likes you, which she probably does, then you shouldn't go and get yourself shot. Capeesh?"

Vert nodded slowly as Alex's index finger aimed at his face.

"Great."

They crossed the living space and into the garage. "I would take your own car and just follow me back. Make sure you go to the bathroom, we'll probably only stop once, if even that. We'll stop to eat once, though, so you could go to the bathroom then. The drive is about twelve hours on average... but if we don't stop we should be able to shave a couple hours off of that.

"Hopefully, if anything goes wrong over there, somebody will give me a call." Alex climbed into his brand-new, red Acura RSX that he had purchased while shopping. He had no time to do anything but install speakers, since that was really his favorite feature of any car. Of course, this also meant extra batteries, so those were _actually_ the first thing, but, in Alex's eyes, they didn't count.

Gunning the engine, he sped out of the garage, barely clearing the rising door. To his surprise, he got a phone call from Kara just as he was hitting they highway. The annoying Mexican Hat Dance ring tone that he kept forgetting to change almost scared him half-to-death as it blasted from the tiny piece of technology.

"Um, hi Kar," he said, putting her on speakerphone and tossing the phone on the passenger's seat. Looking in the rearview mirror, he saw, to his relief, Reverb following loyally. He sighed inwardly.

"Al? We've got a problem,"

"I know, Aaron is after Joe, Mark already called me."

"No, you don't get it. Mark and Adrianna are _staying_ at Joe's house, but that's not the biggest concern at the moment. Something's happened,"

"Don't tell me you've gotten shot, Kara,"

"Not me."

"What? I was being sarcastic!"

"Mitch took a bullet to the chest. If he had been doing what he was supposed to be, it wouldn't have happened. He's dead now."

Alex's mouth dropped open. "No way."

"Yes way, but we've gained allies from this experience. Aaron's cousin, Corban Tyler has agreed to help us, but I don't think he can do much. He and Aaron are too close. Mitch's brother, Jason, is helping Corban, but his mind is a little clouded from the shooting. He might be more of a hindrance than an asset if he can't get it out of his mind."

"Does Aaron know of anybody else's locations?"

"Not that I know of, but I've got Kendred with me right now. I told Jay and Corbin to look for Osara; she was at the club when it happened. Ghandia and Asano are out of my reach right now, but I was going to call them next. Hopefully they have their cell phones on."

Alex heard Kendred's voice in the background, but it was too quiet for the cell phone to pick up actual words. "Well, I just left the mansion. If anything else happens, keep me up to date."

"Will do."

"And, Kara, don't die before I get there, please. I don't know what I'd do without you,"

"Don't get all gushy on me, here, Al."

"Sorry, I'll see you whenever I see you."

"Bye."

"Bye." Alex echoed, sighing. He reluctantly reached over and snapped the phone shut.

**Yes. Long chapter. I only have two or three still in stock still.**

_**Kawaii: Shirako's coming! Don't worry! No, she didn't tell me when she's due, but I'll ask her in my next PM. I've been meaning to ask, anyway, but it continues to slip my mind. I LOVE OFF-TOPIC-NESS!**_

_**Fen: Okay then. : ) **_


	11. James Bond

**Seven Ways to Break a Racer's Heart**

**Disclaimer: Bah, check the first, second, or third chapter.**

**Summary: Check the chapters listed above for that also.**

**A/N: This is more of a filler chapter... yeah... it has four semi-important scenes... well, one of them somebody almost dies. (I'm not telling who) So! Read on, reader, read on.**

Chapter Eleven: James Bond

"Before we go anywhere, I need to pick up your brother. Then I have to find Dill and Red. They're not... out there enough to be immediate targets. I believe Tyce and Haylee have gone back to Hawaii for the time being, so that's no worry. James is a small time drug-dealer, so he might be next. Nix went to New York, but she could be back, I'll have to call her next."

Kendred watched in amazement as Kara went through a verbal checklist, thanks to the contacts on her phone.

"Can you call Asano?" she asked next.

"Uh... sure," he replied quietly.

"Great," Kara flashed him quick, grateful smile before directing her eyes back to the little screen. "The Highst siblings are temporarily out-of-town and I hope that they won't be back for a while. Emilio and Pez are off somewhere, probably clubbing, but Aaron probably won't go after them until later since their not big threats. Jeff is vacationing in Miami. Carson... well, I don't know where Carson is, and if I don't know, it's a slim chance he doesn't, either. Kev is up visiting family over in Iowa, so that's not a problem. Hopefully, Trinity and company aren't in LA because I have no way to contact them.

"The Teku... well, I don't have any cell phone numbers for them either. I'll have to hunt them down by hand because of... well, I'm not as worried about the Metal Maniacs, seeing as though Tork has ties with Aaron. So all I have to do now is call Dill, Red, James, and Nix... I'll call Nix now," she finished, her thumbs flying over the small keypad. Kendred shook his head and pulled out his own phone.

Ten minutes later, Kara relaxed.

"Amazing," Kendred said.

"What?"

"How you can do that... especially after one of your own just died. It's like you don't even care."

Anger flared up inside of the brunette. "You think I don't care?" she whispered.

"No, I know you do, but you're so good at hiding it." Kendred corrected, not wanting to risk another bloody nose all over the inside of his cousin's car, which could risk a black eye, whether it was his fault or not..

"Hm," she grunted. "We have to go to Dill's place now," she said, shifting gears and taking off.

------------------------------

"How do I win her back?" Vert asked again, pressing Alex for answers over the phone.

"I don't know!" Alex shouted back. "This has never happened before!"

"What is she likely to do?"

"Again, I don't know, but there is a guy I know that she was eyeing before we left Los Angeles."

"Who?!"

"His name is Hayden Taylor--"

"That's nice,"

"--but he goes by the nickname Red because of his hair."

"Anybody else I should be worrying about?"

"Well... there is another--"

"Great,"

"--whose name is Dylan Doryson. But _he_ goes by Dill. Nobody knows why. I think it's because it's what his older brother called him. The older guys call him Sonny because he's such a ladies' man."

"Ladies' man?"

"Yeah... but he's never had a girlfriend. Ever."

"Oh,"

"Kara really liked him though, and I don't blame her. He's quite the gentleman. He likes James Bond."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Nothing, I was just being random," Alex grinned into the phone. Seconds later, glass sprayed into his lap.

------------------------------

"Dill," Kara called, "Answering your door once in a while would be nice," she turned the doorknob and stepped inside the small apartment. A small apartment that had no visible floor. "And cleaning your place wouldn't be a bad idea either," she added quietly.

"Sorry, I was just coming out." Dylan Doryson appeared in the bedroom doorway, pulling on a fairly tight, black t-shirt that read _007_ in white letters across the chest. Baggy, gray cargo pants completed his look. Kara smiled.

"Sure... I bet you were sleeping."

"And I bet you would have thrown water on me like the last time you came. Why do you think I'm up now? It took days for my mattress to dry _outside_, to prevent mold, and then I forgot to bring it in when it rained."

"Yeah... well, all of it was your fault."

"I had to sleep on the floor!"

"_Your fault_,"

"I had a bad back for a _week_!"

"I'm not saying it again!"

"Soreness..."

"You _are_ going to be sore if you don't shut up!"

Silence.

"That's right," Kara smirked, "now go get your car... we have to go to Red's place."

"Red...?" Dill let puzzlement take his face. "Why him? Couldn't we just, like, ask somebody else?"

"Why not?" Kara pursed her lips. "Do you have a _problem_ with that?"

"I, uh, no..."

"Good,"

------------------------------

A bullet shattered Alex's window passing through the car and out the window on the other side. It took all of Alex's skills to keep on the road. Where had the shot come from? Another one ripped through the speakers, causing a small explosion near the trunk. The car swerved wildly and took a nosedive off the side of the highway, down through the trees. Luckily, he didn't hit a single one.

Unluckily, he landed right in a swampy lake. Before he knew it, water was seeping around and under the doors and in the broken windows. Grabbing his phone and stuffing it in his pocket, he started to wrestle with his seatbelt. For once, he wished he hadn't worn it. The water had reached the seat and was soaking through his pants. It was deeper than he had thought.

Dirty, murky water, starting as a small trickle, poured through the driver's side window and into Alex's lap, getting the whole rest of him wet. For some reason, the seatbelt buckle was stuck. The water came up to Alex's chin now and he was starting to panic, even though he knew it was the exact thing he _shouldn't_ do. Taking a last, deep breath, he felt the water move over his closed mouth and nose.

Ducking down, he squinted against the green-tinted water to find a small knife he had always kept under the steering wheel for emergencies. This qualified. Pulling out the small piece of sharp steel, he started sawing through the thick belt.

_I can hold my breath for at least a couple minutes, right? _he reassured himself. _Well, this shouldn't take more than a minute._ By the time he sawed all the way through the first belt, he was starting to feel uncomfortable; itching to take a breath. He started in on the second belt with more urgency than he had the first. It was getting darker, which also meant he was going deeper. Alex stopped for a second, his hair floating slowly around his head. He could see the bottom now, but the pressure had already popped his ears once. If he had to guess, he was twenty-five feet below the surface.

With one last, hard yank, the belt broke. Alex's lungs burned, and his mind was starting do leave him. He struggled around in the small cabin of the car before wiggling out the window. Several broken pieces of glass scratched through his skin, but that wasn't his focus. Alex pushed off the side of the car with his feet, shooting up like an arrow through the murky water. Now his vision was starting to go. He clawed for the surface, but it was still too far away. _Am I going to drown?_ he thought, a shutter of adrenaline rushing through his body before his limbs went numb.

A strong hand reached down and grabbed Alex by the front of his shirt, pulling him up past the surface. Vert.

**I had to re-read this chapter!!! Now that's sad. I thought I had lost my floppy disk there for a week or so, so I haven't worked on it in a while. We had a lot of snow and a couple of snow days in which I wish I could have worked on it if I could have found my floppy. Floppies are so out-of-date... ah, onto the reviews!**

_**Fen: Muahahaaaaaa... sorry 'bout that. I have to review your story here sooooon if I can remember. I need more sticky notes. Badly. I love confuzzled. It's fun.**_

_**Kawaii: Woooooow... that was a long review. Me like. WHAT? YOU GOT A CLASS FOR OFF-TOPIC-NESS? I WANNA GO! We got, like, a foot and a half ((half a meter, for the rest of the world, because americans are so stupid)) and below zero temps and ice. That was 5 days ago... now it's 50 degrees outside!!! I hate Michigan weather.**_


	12. Permenant Like

**Seven Ways to Break a Racer's Heart**

**Disclaimer: Bah, check the first, second, or third chapter.**

**Summary: Check the chapters listed above for that also.**

**A/N: Yah! The Teku and the Maniacs will be coming soon! Shirako is in the next chapter! I PROMISE.**

Chapter Twelve: Permanent Like

A strong hand reached down and grabbed Alex by the front of his shirt, pulling him up past the surface. Vert.

Alex closed his eyes and allowed himself to be dragged up onto land. There was only one term for this feeling, and it was _waterlogged_. He couldn't move to open his mouth. His chest still burned and there was no way for him to relieve that feeling. Unconsciousness claimed him within seconds.

Vert watched on helplessly as the brunette's eyes rolled back lazily into his head. It was just his luck that someone had seen the whole thing and had pulled up behind Reverb. A blonde woman got out and ran down the semi-steep hill with a white-haired man following. Vert backed of as she fell beside Alex.

Her hairstyle was similar to Vert's, but in a lighter blonde. Her cheekbones were sharp and her face was angled just so that reminded him of Keira Knightly. The guy following her stood watching as she gave Alex CPR with his hands in his pockets. Vert wondered if he was her boyfriend.

The guy seemed to know Vert was staring and made eye contact. The most awesome grey eyes met Vert's with a indifferent look. His skin was tan, contrasting with his blinding white hair and giving the appearance of a model. Vert looked away, trying to find something to occupy himself with before the guy did something to him.

Of course, it wasn't long before Alex's body convulsed and he spewed water, the woman tipping him onto his side. Several coughs and seemingly gallons of water later, Alex let out a deep breath and relaxed onto his back.

"You drove into a canal. You _drove_ into a _canal_, Alex." the woman growled after a while.

"D..." Alex moaned.

"No. No 'D,' 'cause you know what?! Next time... one of these times... I won't be nearby to save your pathetic a--"

"D!" the white-haired boy said sharply, cutting her off.

"What?!" she snapped.

"Who _is_ this guy?"

"This is one of your new bosses, idiot!"

The guy's mouth shut quickly. "Oh," he muttered.

"As for him," she hiked a thumb over her shoulder at Vert. "I have no idea."

"I'm--" Vert started.

"Vert," Alex squinted at the woman sitting up to look her in the eye. "Leave him alone, Dia, he's a nice guy."

"Well," she said, a smug smile crawling across her face. She thumped Alex solidly on the chest with her fist, causing him to fall back again with a shocked look on his face. "_Vert_, I hope you know nice guys don't get too far in Los Angeles in this business."

Vert didn't answer. He could feel the other guy's slate eyes boring holes in the side of his head. It wasn't a good feeling.

"We have to get to LA," Alex sighed. "Kara's in trouble."

"When is she _not_?" the woman asked with an angry flourish. "I hate having to look after you two like you're children or something."

"You don't _have_ to, Ghandia. Actually, I prefer you _don't_."

"You could have _died_, Alexander, and don't call me Ghandia."

"Fine, don't call me Alexander," Alex huffed.

"Fine," she huffed back.

"You... you said this is a canal?" Vert asked attentively, afraid to get his head bit off by the blonde girl.

"Sort of," Ghandia replied, "it used to be a canal for a few years, but they abandoned it. Now it's just sort of a run-off thing for the highway." She ran her finger through the algae that had crowded the surface, not giving any hint that a brand new car lay under the surface. Florescent green slime covered her finger when she withdrew it. Vert shuddered.

"Well, I hate to bring this up again in the middle of this critical conversation, but we need to get to Los Angeles ASAP." Alex cut in.

"You just almost drowned and you're worried about your sister?" the white-haired man asked. "That's so sweet."

Ghandia stood to face him. "His _sister_ is the head of this... business."

"Who are you anyway?" Alex said, standing beside his cousin and pressing the water out of his hair.

"Sean Copley," the white-haired man said with a smirk.

"Oh, well, welcome to the crew, Sean. I hope you can drive, because, if you can't, Kara's demoting you to the pits, and if you can't at least _work_ on a car, you're gone, in more ways than one."

"Meaning...?"

"She'll get rid of you, permanent like," Alex wringed out the bottom of his black shirt. Little bits of dry algae and plant life clung to his shoulders, back, and chest, but nobody said anything about it.

------------------------------

Kara approached her mechanic's door wearily, knowing, inside, it was probably worse than Dill's apartment. Red, unlike Dill, owned his own house, but that only made it worse in Kara's eyes. This meant he could do whatever he wanted with it. It wasn't huge, but big enough for one teenager and his brothers.

Red's real name was Hayden Taylor, and he lived with his two brothers, Shane, age twenty, and Jacob, age twenty-four. Shane was usually home, looking after his eighteen-year-old brother, but Jacob was away at college and only came home on holidays and between semisters. Kara had met both of them, but didn't know Jacob very well. He was so different from his brothers.

"Red..." Kara called in a sing-song voice, knocking gently on the door with her knuckles. Loud bass could be heard from inside the house. When there was no answer, she tried again, but when there was still no answer, she resorted to pounding.

"Hayden Taylor, open up!" she yelled.

The music didn't increase in volume as the door flew open. Shane Taylor stood in the doorway, his shaggy, dark red hair proving that he had been asleep. Intelligent green eyes sleepily looked Kara up and down before he said, "He's in the garage."

"Thank you, Sunshine," Kara smiled.

Shane nodded. "You're Kara, right? Red talks about you all the time,"

"Yeah... I like your hair," Kara nodded. He was very... scene, if she had to say so herself. It suited him.

"I get that a lot," he said, running his fingers through the straight red locks.

"Well, um... I'm going to go get your brother now." she sighed. "Don't be surprised if he's gone for a while."

"Okay," he said, his sparkling emerald eyes connecting with hers one last time before the door shut.

Kara closed her eyes, turned, and sauntered around the house toward the garage. The music got louder as she turned the corner. Greasy jeans and shoes poked out awkwardly from underneath the hood of his Mustang Cobra GT. Kara absolutely loved the paint job, and couldn't help but stop and admire it. Black graffiti covered the body of the car, with the exception of the spoiler. Dark grey and navy blue accented the drawings. It was subtle, but had an awesome effect under the clear paint that turned silver when you didn't look at it directly.

Walking over to the side of the car, she laid down to look under the car. "Red," she whispered.

Startled, he dropped the wrench... that happened to be right above his face. Cursing wildly, he then hit his hand on the bottom of the car. Kara chuckled.

"What--thank you, Kara," he moaned, nursing his hand. "Thank you very much."

"Anytime, Red," Kara smiled, "anytime."

**Um... to the reviewers!**

**Fen: Muahahahaha!! silence from the lack of things to say**

**Kawaii: You SHOVEL the front YARD?! What the heck? Oh well. Americans are messed up because we are too horribly stuck up to use the metric system. We are the only ones in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD who use something different throughout the whole country. And it sucks because even when Canada threatened to charge us for not converting it ((which they now are)) and gave us time to, but we didn't want to!!! Not that I wouldn't mind... but it would be a little confusing. Not that I'm confused or anything. I know the conversion equations. I like calculators!**

**Jimmy Candlestick: Why hello there! I've gotten that question so much it's not even funny anymore. They're coming, so don't get you're panties in a bunch. XD Nice to meet you!**


	13. BombinaPhone

**Seven Ways to Break a Racer's Heart**

**Disclaimer: Bah, check the first, second, or third chapter.**

**Summary: Check the chapters listed above for that also.**

**A/N: Washington and Heading streets (I believe) are not actual streets in LA. I haven't checked on that, but I made them up off the top of my head. If they are, then it's a total coincidence. And, since this chapter is mostly dialogue, it's extra long.**

**EDIT: Sorry to all the stories I haven't reviewed to in forever. I'm on break, and, despite all my time off, I've hardly been on the computer at all! Lots of softball, movies, putt putt, and getting to know my sister's boyfriend through arguing. Not to mention I finally got this CD that I've been wanting, so lots of time just listening to that. Not to mention wouldn't let me enter documents!**

Chapter Thirteen: Bomb-in-a-Phone

Several miles away, Joe, Mark, and Adrianna were on the run. Joe had managed to get a hold of a friend of his in a high place and they were now relaxing on the leather couch provided by this friend in his summer penthouse. It was winter, so the whole place was practically empty. The room where they sat had a single window, and, even being twelve stories in the air, none of them sat in clear view.

Mark was busy trying to call Alex, but he must of had his phone off because he wasn't answering. He had no idea if Vert had a cell phone, or its number. Kara was next, and she answered.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"We're all fine for now. Just waiting for you to get out of danger."

"Where are you? Maybe we can all meet there or something."

"We are at the a corner penthouse in downtown LA."

"Corners of?"

"Washington and Heading,"

"Okay, we'll be there in twenty minutes."

"Be careful,"

"Why?"

"Because they might know we're here, Kar,"

"Don't worry about us. Call Alex,"

"I've been trying! He has his phone off or something!"

"Oh, well, then, don't worry about it."

"Okay, see you later,"

"Bye,"

------------------------------

"I taste something nasty," Alex said, sticking out his tongue. "And it doesn't taste very good."

Vert chuckled. He had "volunteered" to take Alex, which would only make sense since he was the only other one to have an open seat. "I think something in that water affected your brain, Alex." he mentioned, speeding up to keep behind Ghandia's car.

"Huh?"

"Like your vocabulary,"

"Oh..." Alex shrugged, pulling out his phone. Flipping it open, he tried to turn it on. When pressing the ON button didn't work, he resorted to beating the phone on the nearest hard object: the dashboard.

"What the--Alex! Stop!" Vert screamed.

Alex sighed. "Darn phone," he muttered, frowning. As he said this, water began dripping out of the bottom.

"Well, it's your own fault," Vert said. "Why'd you drive off the road in the first place? It's nuts!"

"You didn't hear the gun shots?" Alex asked, dropping the phone onto the floor. "_Somebody_ was shooting at me!"

"What? What are you talking about?"

Alex, frustrated, turned to the blonde. "Do you have a cell phone? I need to call my sister."

"Yeah," Vert breathed, pulling out his own phone. "Don't break it."

Rolling his eyes, he punched in his sister's number and pressed it to his ear, and pulled up the antenna all in one swift motion. He was afraid that whoever had tried to take him out was also after his sister. Who knows what could have happened? She could be trying to call him right now.

"Hello?" Kara's voice sounded distance and weary, but cautious. She probably didn't recognize the number.

"Kara? Are you alright?" Alex asked.

"Who is this?"

For a second, Alex almost burst out laughing. "Alex."

"Alex! Alex, oh my gosh, what happened? How come you aren't answering your phone?"

"Whoa... calm down, Kar, I'm fine." Alex assured with a sigh. "Somebody shot at me on the highway. My car is scrapped."

"I've been trying to call you." Kara's voice suddenly became angry. "Why haven't you had your phone on?"

"Er, I have. It's a little, um, _waterlogged_ at the moment. I don't know if it's going to be working anymore."

"_Waterlogged_?! Alex! What happened?" Kara shouted. Alex had to pull the phone away from his ear she blew off steam.

"Yeah. So is my car. Actually, my car is twenty feet blow the surface of an old, abandoned canal right now, but I'm still on my way." Alex paused momentarily, thinking. "Ghandia found me... saved my life."

"But, Alex, who are you riding with?"

"Ghandia."

"But she drives a two-seater."

"Yeah, so?"

"You are a _horrible_ liar."

"Who says I'm lying?"

"I do. I have Kendred with me. He said that she has a new recruit... what's his name, Ken?" There was a mumble in the background. "A one Sean Copley. In other words, she wouldn't have any room for you in that little convertible of her's. Who did you pull into this, Al?   
Whose car are you riding in?"

"You know what? Can we talk about this later?" Alex said, casting a worried glance at Vert, who noticeably swallowed.

"No, Alex, tell me. I have to know who else--"

"Tell her." Vert said quietly.

"--you're bringing into this mess."

"It's..." he started, his eyes flitting down, "it's Vert," murmured Alex, closing his eyes.

Silence.

_Click_.

"What did she say?" Vert asked, taking his phone back.

"Vert," Alex said solemnly. "Let's not expect a warm welcome."

------------------------------

"It's... it's Vert." came the almost non-existent reply.

Kara pursed her lips and forcefully closed the phone. Gripping the outside, she pressed her forehead against the center of the steering wheel repeatedly, causing the horn to blare loudly at timed intervals.

Kendred jumped, surprised at his cousin's actions. "Kara!" he shouted.

She stopped.

"What is it?" he asked.

"My brother just dragged a whole 'nother variable into the equation." Kara moaned.

"Huh?"

"More people are coming."

Kendred frowned. "_More_?"

"My--" Kara blinked a couple times before her mouth turned into a solid line. "--er, friend, Vert. If he comes, then his friends will probably be following." She turned to look at her cousin. "Not to mention he no longer has a car because he _drove_ it into a _canal_!" Kara finished, shouting the last word.

Silence blanket the car. Kendred swallowed.

"Sometimes, I wish I didn't have had a twin." Kara muttered, turning the key in the ignition and gunning the engine. The whole car shuttered as she stomped on the gas. Kendred dug his fingers into the seat as the car's tires spun on the pavement in the few seconds before they caught and the car rocketed forward.

------------------------------

"That song is so old." Trinity said as Shirako reached down to answer his phone.

"And yet, you dance to it." Shirako sighed, flipping open the phone and stopping the loop of Usher's "Yeah." "Hello?" he asked.

"Is this Shirako?" a gravely voice asked.

"Yeah. Who is this?" he laughed as the blonde girl poked his sides.

There was a mumble on the other end before "This phone will destruct in five... four..."

Puzzled, Shirako looked at the phone as the guy on the other end finished counting. "Is this some kind of joke?" he asked Trinity.

"One... goodbye." There was a click as the guy hung up and his voice was replaced by an irritating, continuous beep.

Trinity grabbed the phone and, luckily, the window nearby was unlocked so it was quickly opened and the phone was thrown out.

"Hey!" Shirako objected. "That's my--"

_Bam!_ An explosion erupted from the tiny piece of technology, spraying plastic parts everywhere.

"...Phone." Shirako glanced worriedly at Trinity, who smirked.

"You're welcome." she said.

"My phone..." Shirako sobbed.

Trinity rolled her eyes. He just almost got killed and all he cared about was the loss of his phone. That was sad.

**Okay, next chapter we're checking in on the Metal Maniacs. **

_**Fen: Heh... I need to go review your story!!! Like, right now. runs away**_

_**Trin: It should be around that time... if I figure right. I've been meaning to send you another little story about Kara and Trinity, but this is the first time on the computer in a while, and I have quite a bit to catch up on. XD I hope everything goes well!**_

_**Jimmy Candlestick: The characters are all coming back to me now... anyway, thanks for reviewing! I need to get to reviewing for your story too... runs away again**_


	14. BombinaPhone MANIAC REMIX

**Seven Ways to Break a Racer's Heart**

**Disclaimer: Bah, check the first, second, or third chapter.**

**Summary: Check the chapters listed above for that also.**

**A/N: Yah, I was gone for a while. Uber sorry!! I'm not going to explain, just give you the chapter, okay? If you want an explaination, check my profile. : ) I'm back, anyways!**

Chapter Fourteen: Bomb-in-a-Phone ((MANIAC REMIX))

Faint music consisting of loud guitars and screaming male voices could barely be heard over the roar of several engines. In the small space of the upper levels of the car garage, the sound reverberated across the empty space and seemingly magnified the sound a hundred times. Markie Wylde sat in a newly refurnished Flathead Fury to accommodate his new arm. Pork Chop's new rig hadn't been able to fit under the 9 foot clearance, so it sat, rumbling, in the alleyway below along with it's owner.

Tork appeared out of the door labeled _LEVEL 5E _in golden-yellow letters. Monkey was right behind him. The approached Wylde's car and Tork leaned in, saying something to the tattooed man. The door of a new SUV slammed as Monkey hopped in.

"Monkey," Taro said, jogging up to the driver's side of the red vehicle as the tinted window withdrew into the door. "Can't you just call Pork Chop?"

"Eh, I want to go talk to the big man in person, you know?" Monkey grinned. The window came back up with a subtle mechanical whine as the SUV followed the exit signs to the ground floor.

Tork clapped the Asian on the shoulder, making him jump. "We're leaving," he grunted.

Wylde was waiting impatiently in Flathead Fury as the other two men climbed into their respective cars. The music stopped abruptly as the cars followed Monkey's new car down off the fifth level.

------------------------------

"Kara!" Mark greeted, jumping onto his leader. "I thought you might be dead! Where's Alex?" he spewed quickly.

"Mark, knock it off. He's fine." Kara rolled her eyes and pushed the springy brunette back onto the couch.

Mark gave a crooked grin. "Just as confident as ever, Kar," he quipped, getting back to his feet and doing the classic "fist-bump" with the three guys that had followed her.

"Kendred..." Adrianna fidgeted in her seat.

"Hello, A," Kendred smiled. "I never thought I'd see you again."

For a second Kara thought she witnessed Adrianna scowl, but it was quickly replaced by a small smile. The whole thing was just awkward. Thank God for Mark.

"Well, people, we'd better do something before Aaron finds us here." he proposed.

"I say head back to Tezla's," Joe grunted, crossing his arms.

"And I say, no," said Kara stiffly. "I'm not dragging my uncle into this, or the Teku."

"Why not? Knowing Aaron, he's probably already got his hit list in order." Mark walked to the door. "And we'll be safer out there than right here. At least it would be _our_ territory and not his. Nobody really knows we're alive, and we'll have just as much resistance as we had when we first entered the business."

Kara frowned. "Are you challenging my authority?"

"Yes, I am." Mark turned to face her with a blank look. Funny Mark was gone and was replaced by his more confident, solemn counterpart.

"Whoa, guys," Dill stepped between the two, sensing that if it didn't stop, the weaker of the two might get thrown out of the gang and, even worse, thrown out of the twelfth story window. "Let's let somebody decide who's _not_ in the picture, okay?"

All the eyes on the room were on the blonde as he reached in his pocket and took out his cell phone. "You know my brother, Kara. He'll give you the truth." The James Bond-obsessed 22-year-old pressed the phone into Kara's hand.

Kara, without hesitation, flipped open the phone and, without taking her eyes off Mark, dialed Derek's number and put him on speakerphone.

After a couple rings, a male voice cut through. "Hello?"

"Derek," Dill said, coming to standing next to his leader. None of the racers in the room seemed to notice that the sun was setting and it felt like the hope of the small group was disappearing with the light.

"Dill? What's wrong? Don't tell me I have to come out there."

"No, it's okay, we're all fine. I just need some advice..."

------------------------------

Several minutes later, the Metal Maniac's rumbling engines could be heard on the street as they erupted from the parking garage. Rolling Thunder skidded to a stop beside Pork Chop's brand new, Nitrox 3 1/2-carrying big rig.

"Pork Chop, my man, time to head out!" Monkey crowed up to the open window above.

There was no answer.

"Pork Chop! Move your butt!" Wylde shouted.

Still no answer.

"Pork Chop?" Tork got out of his car and walked to the driver's side of the giant rig, the _slam_ of the door echoing down the alleyway. Without a moment's hesitation, Tork pulled open the door. To his surprise, Pork Chop was sitting in the driver's seat with his eyes shut.

"Pork Chop, wake up, we gotta go." Monkey grinned, appearing beside his leader. He planted his foot on the step and propped himself at Pork Chop's level. With one smooth motion, he gently whacked the muscular red-head across the temple. The big man's head lolled to the side, revealing blood caked around a nasty hole.

Tork shouted and caught Monkey as he fell off the side of the rig. Then he slammed the door shut. It wasn't a very good start to their first weekend free of the Tezla's.

**Okay, yeah, short, yes it was. I have some crutial turning points coming up. This story will probably be ending less than five chapters from now. Depends on what the story needs. I'm thinking a third story... but maybe not. If I do, it's probably going to be a crossover with the Fast and the Furious.**

**Thanks to all my reviewers! I love you all! ((I would do personalized ones, but Kara is going to punch me through the computer if I don't get going. Or she'll punch Kendred. XD We'll see...))**


	15. A Little Tied Up

**Seven Ways to Break a Racer's Heart**

**Disclaimer: Bah, check the first, second, or third chapter.**

**Summary: Check the chapters listed above for that also.**

**A/N: My gosh, sorry I'm getting this up late. I didn't know how long it was until I stopped typing. There's going to be ((I think)) two more deaths in the next few chapters, then the end of the story. It might get a little graphic. MAYBE. I'm stuck between two endings right now. Maybe I'll write them both!**

Chapter Fifteen: A Little Tied Up

For the fourth time, Kara reached forward and slapped her cousin's hand away from the volume dial. The music was turned up to an ungodly level, and the blonde couldn't take it anymore.

"Kara! Turn it down!" he shouted in her ear.

The former-brunette flinched a little, but kept her eyes closed and didn't reach for the knob. "If you don't like it, you can get out." she told him, her hand moving to the locking mechanism on the door. He couldn't hear her, but Kendred got the drift of what she was saying through pounding music.

Kendred opened his mouth as if to answer, but instead shot his hand out and ripped the key out of the ignition. The music kept playing; the repetitive beats taunting him. He stared dumbfounded at the key for a second before quickly pushing open his door and slamming it behind him.

Inside, the music stopped and Kara's eyes flew open. She leaned over the center portion that was raised between the seats and made careful eye contact with Kendred. Instead of giving his usual _what-now?_ smirk, he took a small step back from the car.

"Give me the key," she said, her voice all kinds of threatening. "Or, I swear, I will come out there and--"

"Oh, no you don't!" Kendred yelled. As he spoke, his hand came up unconsciously, shaking the key in Kara's direction. "You're not going to do anything until you explain what we're doing out here where Aaron would have _no_ problem whatsoever finding us and blasting us to kingdom come!"

Kara rolled her eyes and sighed. She slowly opened the door and stood, crossing her arms on the cool metal of the roof of the Grand Prix. "Kendred," she murmured, "please give me the key."

"No," Kendred defied, taking another poised step back.

"Ken,"

The blonde matched Kara's steely look eye for eye, challenging her to tell him what he wanted to know. It wasn't hard to believe that he came from her mom's side of the family. It was where all the Tezla kids got their stubbornness from.

"Kendred--" Kara started, but she was cut off by the high-pitched jingle of her cell phone.

Both their eyes snapped to the small piece of technology that sat smugly in its holder on the dashboard. Bright blue lights flashed to the sound of the jumbled, irritating notes.

Kara swallowed and flipped the cover up. "Hello?"

"It's nice to know that you're alive, Tez."

With a small gasp that she refused to let the person on the other end hear, she peeked at the number on the screen. She could feel Kendred shooting her all kinds of confused looks.

"What do you want, Aaron?" she growled into the phone.

"I'd just thought you'd like to know that I just had the pleasure of killing your brother."

------------------------------

Four shiny, colorful cars roared down the highway. To the calm bystanders, they seemed like blurs, almost breaking the sound barrier. In actuality, one of them might have been. Literally.

"Shirako!" Karma screamed into her phone. "Turn it down!"

Shirako's mind was elsewhere as his music blared from the several-speaker system. The only thing he was worried about was keeping up with the cars in front of him and focusing on the beat of the mechanical techno that was keeping with the beat of his heart. Music was his life. It was hard to believe that almost twenty-four hours before his girlfriend had chucked his $500 cell phone out the window, only to see it explode. But that didn't matter now.

In Kurt's vehicle, the annoying noise that came from his phone kept him from enjoying anything. If he hadn't needed the phone, it would have been gone hours ago.

"We're almost there," Nolo's accented voice cracked over the small device. "Just entering the suburbs right now." The last bit of 'now' was cut off as the Hispanic teenager released the button a tad to soon, ending the message with that annoying, repetitive chirp.

In the distance, the innocent buildings of Los Angeles stood in the way of the setting sun. Smog blurred the lines and the hot black top made them all wavy as it reacted with the cooler air. Oh yeah, they were almost back. Back to where it had all started.

For a second, Kurt's mind flashed to his brother, Markie. He gave the small, silver phone that sat in the single cupholder a fleeting glance. No. Markie wanted nothing to do with him, and he should respect his brother's wishes.

The train of four cars accelerated forward in the last stretch into the city.

------------------------------

Vert hadn't yet driven through the center of the city before a huge explosion rocked the car. Less than a block ahead, the glass from several windows sprayed down into the street. Vert had to pull Reverb into a sharp turn to avoid it.

A fraction of a second later, Alex screamed, "Vert! Drive!"

The blonde surf-rat, after a momentary look out the window, let out a surprised yelp, sped down the road, and out of the way of the crashing debris. The decrepit building had started to lean, and was now tumbling down and dropping flaming bits of wood and brick into the streets. Right behind the small debrie was the rest of the building.

Both Alex and Vert watched out the back window as the building fell into the street. Reverb rolled to a cautious stop about a half block away. Thank God there was no traffic.

Alex was the first to recover. With a wide grin, he turned back in his seat and let out a loud sigh. "That was close," he muttered with a chuckle.

"What the _hell_ was that?!" Vert exclaimed, wide eyed. Alex laughed. His blonde hair stood up in wild spikes as he looked at the brunette.

"Vert! That's the best I've ever seen you drive!" the brunette said between bursts of laughter. "We should freak you out more often!"

Vert gave Alex a death glare. "Shut up,"

As he started to pull away, both guys missed seeing a black car slink out of the nearby alleyway and follow them down the road.

------------------------------

"There isn't much more you can do, Kara," Aaron smirked. "I'm not very sorry to say that you're finally through, and there's no more slipping through the nets." He looked up

Kara sat in an old rickity chair in the small brick room. Her fingers were meshed loosely behind her neck, elbows on her knees, and her head hanging low. A blank expression covered her face like a mask.

"Kara! Come on! You can just give up." Kendred shouted from the next room over. "Think of how many people are counting on you."

The two cousins made brief eye contact through a hole in the wall. For a very brief second, Kendred thought he saw something in her eyes. He would never know for sure.

Aaron laughed and stepped in front of the hole, poking his head through. "Shut him up," he commanded the large man that stood in the room. The man gave Aaron a toothy grin and pulled out a dirty bandana.

"Kara!" Kendred screamed. "What about my--!" With a sudden muffled thump, he was silenced and the bandana was tied around his mouth. The sound of his chair scraping the floor continued on accompanied by Kendred's struggle to talk as he tried to get loose.

A flash of concern raced across Kara's face, but was soon replaced again by the look of hopeless indifference. It would have been cheese for her to take Aaron out since neither her hands nor her feet were bound, but as soon as he made any sort of pained sound, all his thugs would come rushing in.

Aaron laughed. "Look at you," he cooed, crouching down to look her in the eye. "You've slunk back into that small world that you called home those first sixteen years of your life. You're not that strong, fearless, teenage woman that everyone thought you were. You have no fight left."

This brought a weak glare from Kara that quickly subsided.

"This is no fun, Kar," the bleached-blonde sneered. "Look at me."

She did, but not without cost. Aaron's hand struck out across her cheek with a loud _crack_. The brunette didn't respond.

"Come _on_," Aaron sighed in exasperation, standing. "You're just going to sit and take this?" He struck out, kicking a leg of the chair to the point where it collapsed. Kara had to quickly stand or otherwise fall onto the ground with it. Her hands drew into fists, but she still didn't make eye contact. It didn't matter.

She caught the scent of his smoke laden breath as he moved closer. They were almost the same height... he was shorter. There was no denying the fact that she could probably throw him into the wall if she wanted to, and she did. The urge to do something was as strong as ever, but Kara resisted. She hoped to God that somebody would show up.

Aaron chuckled. "Hit me, Kara," he goaded. "I know you can do it."

At any other moment, Kara would have loved this, but she knew if she laid one finger on Aaron, goons would come running to finish her. That's all he wanted. _All the more reason not to give him what he wants_, Kara thought, but she was on the verge of visibly shaking from the strain. She knew that he saw it, too.

"Kara," he muttered, a small smirk upturning the corners of his mouth. She looked up, connecting her hazel eyes to his. This time, her gaze was daring and sharp. His smile widened as he reached up and tugged on the zipper of her racing jacket, all the while never breaking eye contact. Kara didn't flinch.

Aaron curiously raised an eye brow, his head cocking sideways in a dog-like manner. Without hesitating, he pulled the zipper down past the top of her undershirt, waiting for a reaction.

The brunette took a deep breath through clenched teeth. _Just a little longer_, she told herself. _If worse comes to worse, I'm going to have to do something. _

**Bwahahahaha!! Aaron's a baddy boy! And, yes, I killed Pork Chop. It was either him, Monkey, or Wylde. Pork Chop's big rig finally gave me the idea and I ran with it.**

**Thank you to my reviewers, though! I love you all!**


	16. Rescued?

**Seven Ways to Break a Racer's Heart**

**Disclaimer: Bah, check the first, second, or third chapter.**

**Summary: Check the chapters listed above for that also.**

Chapter Sixteen: Rescued?

"Are you sure?" Vert asked tentively, pulling Reverb up beside a run down building. "I don't think even _rats_ live here."

"I traced her phone. She's here, all right." Alex opened his door and jumped out.

"Hey! Watch the paint!" the blonde shouted as the passenger's side door dinked against the brick of the building.

Alex spun around, glaring. "Shut up! They'll know we're here. I have a feeling that something is going on."

"And we should trust your feelings... _why_?" Vert frowned, walking up beside Alex. Within a couple steps, they had approached a half-rotted door that led inside.

"Because..." Alex grinned, pulling out a brand new handgun. "I don't think that camera was there when this place was built."

Vert looked up to see a shiny, silver piece of technology sticking out of the almost black mold that grew on the wall. "Alex," he sighed. "If you knew it was there, then why did you bother telling me to drive up like this?"

"Because!" the brunette chuckled, screwing a handmade silencer onto the end and pointing it at the lens of the camera. There was a popping sound as Alex fired and the camera exploded. "That's why," he said, blowing on the end of the silver silencer.

Vert laughed. "Bond, James Bond," he chuckled, his voice taking a dip in deeper tones.

"Of course," Alex grinned. "You do the honors?" He motioned toward the door.

"Always," Vert said, "but there's only one thing I'm worried about, Alex."

Alex looked at him as a prompt to go on.

"What if this isn't something bad? What if Kara doesn't appreciate us barging in?"

Alex shook his head. "Boy, I'll never understand you. Let's deal with that problem _if_ and _when_ we come to it."

"If you say so," Vert sighed. Without another moment of hesitation, he lifted his foot and kicked out the rotten door.

------------------------------

"Settle down, Mark," Adrianna sighed for the seventh time, pulling the back of her brother's black t-shirt and forcing him to sit back on the worn couch.

"But I can't! It was a bad idea to let her go alone," he said. Mark ran his hand through his wild hair and sat back as far as the cushions would let him. He spent several seconds adjusting his position. Soon after, he realized that he wouldn't really be comfortable in any position, so he gave up and started pacing again.

Joe looked up from his cell phone at Mark's back. "Kara can handle herself. You know that as well as I do, Mark, and if she ends up killing Aaron, then the world'll be a better place."

"But Aaron's whole family is here in L.A., and we only have ourselves. I'd say we were outnumbered!" Mark's pale complexion was turning whiter by the second. "We aren't fighters, Joe, just racers. That's all I asked for when Alex pulled me into this. All I asked for was a chance to drive fast cars and meet hot girls, not get killed!"

"What do you think we asked for, a walk in the park?" Red argued. "This is the life, Mark; you either live with it or die."

There was silence for a couple minutes with the exception of the sound of Mark pacing. Everyone was thinking about Kara.

"Has anybody heard from Alex?" Joe asked after a while.

"No, when I tried, it just kept ringing. It was probably off," Adrianna replied, and then added quietly, "Not that he ever has it on."

"Well, I say we get out of here. I'm a little sick of sitting here worrying my head right off my shoulders." Red declared, springing to his feet.

"Yeah!" Dylan agreed loudly, jumping up beside the red-head.

Mark's hands shot up in the air. "Let's do it!" he shouted. Adrianna yanked the back of his shirt again, causing him to sputter a yelp and fall back sharply on the couch. Again.

"Sit," she commanded her brother firmly. Setting her sights on Dill and Hayden, she masked her face with a glare. "Both of you, sit."

Taking the hint, they both quickly sat. All eyes were on Adrianna, now, and she handled it like a pro.

"We aren't just going to sit here--or stand here, if you will--and wait for Kara to come home. Seriously," Adrianna said, relaxing further into the worn cushions of the couch, her hand coming up as to give her the look as if she were thinking. "If Kara had gone out to find Aaron, then he probably followed her. That leaves little or no eyes watching us, correct?"

A few heads nodded.

"Then we should go."

------------------------------

Aaron was less than an inch from Kara. His warm, rank breath coursed down her neck and made the brunette's stomach twist into a sickly knot. She was moments away from kneeing him where the sun doesn't shine if he wasn't careful.

"Too bad your brothers aren't here to protect you..." he whispered in her ear, his lips drawing back to reveal more stained teeth.

_Alex_... an image of her deceased brother flashed into her mind. _I wish you were here_...

Suddenly, several gunshots ran out, startling Aaron into jumping away from Kara and spinning toward the door. A wild cheer rang out from the hallway. Without any warning, the door was suddenly being blasted to bits with obviously more bullets than was necessary. Both racers inside hit the deck as the wall behind them was sprayed with holes.

"Am I interrupting anything?!" Alex Tezla said obnoxiously as he kicked the door in, brandishing a smoking automatic he had stolen from one of Aaron's bruisers.

"Alex?" Kara stared at her twin as dust, mold, and other small particles rained down from the rafters above them. Everything was hazy, but there was no mistake that it was her brother standing there.

"W-What the...?! How did you...?" Aaron stuttered, scrambling to his feet. "Omar!"

Silence.

"Omar, get your lazy--"

"Omar's dead, Aaron," Alex said smoothly, resting the automatic back on his shoulder.

Suddenly, Kara was a little scared of her brother. He stared at Aaron with a serious ferocity she had never witnessed before. There was an evil glint in his eye that told her he was fully prepared to kill Aaron.

**Bah, we're getting close to the end, now! Sorry this chapter wasn't as long as the last one. I just got done with detasseling a couple days ago, and I am so excited! Thank you to my reviewers, I love you all! **


	17. Silencerz and Suicide Victims

**Seven Ways to Break a Racer's Heart**

**Disclaimer: Bah, check the first, second, or third chapter.**

**Summary: Check the chapters listed above for that also.**

**A/N: This chapter is rated more heavily because someone dies... and it's a little graphic. **

Chapter Seventeen: Silencerz and Suicide Victims

Rapid footsteps interrupted the mood of the situation. "Kara!" Alex was knocked forward as Vert burst into the room. The automatic flew out of Alex's hand and landed with a clatter in the middle of the room, skidding toward Aaron.

There was a moment of complete silence as all four stared at each other, trying to predict each other's moves. Kara, still on the floor, tried to make sense of it all, but the only thought that came to her head was _Alex is alive_.

Aaron was the first to react, flinging himself in the direction of the weapon. A split second later Vert was doing the same. Alex busied himself fumbling to pull out the gun he had cleverly placed under his shirt. Kara watched the whole thing with wide eyes. When her mind started moving again, she impulsively reached into her open jacket for the 9mm she always kept there. Of course, it had been removed back when she had first arrived. Her next move was to find a weapon. She scrambled to her feet and scanned the room.

Meanwhile, Aaron hit the floor, almost touching the automatic when Vert struck out with his foot and knocked the gun into the far corner. Aaron swore, rose to his feet, and tackled the blue-eyed teenager from behind as he was ran to take the weapon for himself.

"Stop!" Alex shouted, finally getting control of his own gun.

Vert froze, leaving himself open to Aaron, who wasn't listening to Alex. Two punches landed square on Vert's face before Alex came to his rescue. A bullet grazed Aaron's exposed shoulder, surprising the older blonde into jumping back. Taking advantage of this, Vert turned onto his stomach and quickly crawled over to Alex's feet.

"Aaron, I swear, I'm going to kill you," Alex growled. "I'm going to kill you right here, right now." He took several menacing steps toward Aaron, the 9mm up and pointed at his head.

Aaron backed right into the corner, his hand brushing the automatic that was there. He chuckled, "Alexander Tezla, you don't have the guts to kill me."

Alex replied with a steely glare, clenching the gun harder.

"That's right, Alex," Aaron smirked, his hand moving over the handle of the automatic. "You're a failure. You can't even protect your sister."

Looking at her brother, Kara could see him weakening. He wasn't built for killing people, and he knew it. Unfortunately, so did Aaron. The adrenaline that had been pent up for so long was now gone. Alex was doing a good job keeping up his outward appearance, but there were signs that he was giving.

"Alex! Don't listen to him," Kara said.

"You won't be able to protect her when they come for it," Aaron cackled. "You know you won't,"

"What are you talking about?" Alex muttered.

"The Equilibrium Disk, of course!" Aaron's voice became wild. "They're coming for it, you know. They'll find your brother and kill him just like they will you."

"Who?!" shouted Kara.

"The drones," Aaron whispered. His once green eyes were now covered in a silver film. "The d-drones..." he said absently, "they'll have it. Seven chances... Luke Tezla..."

Suddenly, his eyes snapped into focus. His hand closed around the automatic as he drew it to his head. He looked directly at Alex and said, "I failed." Less than a second later, there was a spray of fire mixed with blood and brain matter.

------------------------------

"This is no place for Teku," Taro mumbled as Nolo and Tork talked quietly. While exiting the city, the Metal Maniacs had coincidently met up with the Teku, who had been entering.

"This is no place for racers in general," Monkey retorted. "I can't believe that those twins are crazy enough to live here."

Tork walked back to the remaining Maniacs. "Nolo doesn't know where the Tezla's are, but they're our best bet on finding out what's going on."

"And what happened to Pork Chop?" Monkey added solemnly.

"Yeah," Tork looked away for a second. "Nolo says that somebody has been after them, too. I guess there was an explosive planted in Shirako's phone back at the mansion."

Wylde cleared his throat. "I know this sounds a little wierd, but I think we should run with the Teku for now. Ya know, a safety in numbers kind of thing."

Taro nodded.

"I guess that's what we'll do, then," Tork said with a small smile.

------------------------------

"Oh..." Kara whimpered, closing her eyes. It was a horrible sight, straight out of a gory, horror movie. She turned, embracing the person nearest to her, which happened to be Vert.

"T-That was unexpected," Vert choked. The sound of the automatic falling to the ground hit their ears.

"We have to get out of here," Alex said. He crouched beside the body and reached into the closest pocket, drawing out a set of keys.

Kara gasped. "Alex! That's wrong and disgusting."

"I don't really care now." Alex slipped the keys into his own pocket and proceeded ot hide his 9mm. "We can sell his cars. They have to be worth a good 50 grand each, easily. Nobody has to know that Aaron's dead."

"But, what about the cops--?" Vert started.

"The cops don't care. We just did a huge favor for them, or, rather, Aaron did them a favor. We're just cleaning up the evidence." Alex glanced out the door, then at his sister and Vert. "Of course, eventually, the smell of two decaying bodies will attract bugs and rats, and probably eventually people, but we'll be long gone. It'll be just another hit by a gang by then."

"What about the rest of Aaron's gang?" Vert asked.

"They'll know about as much as the police," Kara answered, stepping next to her brother and away from Vert. "Other gangs will probably notice Aaron's absence, too, but they don't care. The Tezla's don't really exist right now, and nobody knows about the Teku, so you're pretty much cleared."

"And speaking of being cleared," Alex smirked, "we should get out of here."

------------------------------

"No, no, Alex says to get back to the manor as soon as you can... I don't _care_ if you don't _want_ to, Sara, it's not safe. You and the boys get out of the city." Kendred had his finger in one ear and his phone pressed to the other, desperately trying to get a hold of everyone. He sighed as his sister hung up on him, slipping the phone back into his pocket.

"Kendred!" Kara seemed to suddenly come out of nowhere, almost knocking him over with a hug. Before he knew it, she was in front of him, half-diving into Reverb.

"We gotta go," Alex was next, slapping his cousin on the back and heading after Kara.

"How are we going to fit in here?" Kendred asked as he approached the passenger's side door. Reverb was a two-seater... and, well, there were four of them.

"Ride on the roof," Alex quipped. With a final corny grin, he shut the door.

------------------------------

"What just happened?" A Silencerz Techie sat in front of a computer screen, his fingers rapidly bouncing off the raised keys. Less than a moment ago, everything had been going smoothly. "Sir?" he asked into his headpiece. "I think we have a problem."

A young man that looked around the age of twenty strode briskly into the room, heading for the agent at the computer. "What is it?" he asked, leaning over the agent.

"Well, it seems that we've possibly lost Lieutenant McDermott."

The young man frowned. "Was he at base?"

"Yes, would you like to see the footage?"

"Yes, please,"

The tech pressed several buttons and brought up a window. "This is the outside camera," he said, pressing another button to play the video.

A sleek car drove up and a brunette guy jumped out. Seconds later, a blonde exited the driver's side, yelling at the brunette and pointing at the car then the passenger's side door.

"Who is that?" The young man leaned closer to the screen. "Freeze it,"

"Yessir," the agent froze the screen.

"Him," the man pointed at the blonde.

The tech zoomed in the panel. "I don't know, would you like me to send it to Identification?"

"Yes, then continue the tape."

After a few more buttons, the video started again. The two teenagers talked for a second before the brunette took out a handgun and attached something to the end, pointing it directly at the camera. A moment later, the screen went dark.

"This is camera two," the tech said, switching to the next screen.

"Location?"

"Downstairs staircase,"

The same two teenagers appeared, cautiously making their way down the stairs. Soon after they got to the bottom, they rushed off the screen, so the tech switched to the next camera.

"Camera three," he muttered.

Both Silencerz watched as the two teens rushed around the corner and burst into the nearest door.

"I have audio for these cameras, sir," the tech explained, pressing another button to his right. "Unfortunately, that was the watch room that held our equipment and it had no camera."

Several bursts of fire, then an inaudible shout in Spanish. Another shot, and there was a crash shortly following it. This time, when the teenagers exited the room, there was another blonde guy with them.

"Go!" the brunette shouted, and the newest member of their group ran off toward the staircase.

"He left the building, sir," the tech said. "And this is the last camera, inside the interrogation room. It's pointed at the door, but, by the sound of it, sir, the Lieutenant shot himself."

"Thank you," the man said, pursing his lips. "I'm sure Admiral Graymond would like to hear this."

"Yessir, good luck," the tech said, saluting the man.

The man saluted the agent and turned and left, muttering strings of curses the whole way.

**Merh, there's at least one more chapter... then I might add an epilogue. There will probably be a three-quel (thanks to my negotiating friends at the Accelepedia), but I need to get caught up on my other two active stories, so it won't be out for a while. Probably near the end of September, early October-ish, when I get into the groove of school.**

**Thanks-ye much to my reviewers! Hugs for all!**


	18. Apologies

**Seven Ways to Break a Racer's Heart**

**Disclaimer: Bah, check the first, second, or third chapter.**

**Summary: Check the chapters listed above for that also.**

Chapter Eighteen: Apologies

Vert hadn't been driving very long before he saw a familiar flash of gold. Synkro turned down the street, coming toward Reverb on the other side of the road, closely followed by a chain of cars both Teku and Maniac.

"Hey!" Alex shouted, his voice slightly muffled by the fact that Kendred was partially on his lap. "Look!" he attempted to point, but ended up getting smashed even more as he tried to move.

Kendred squirmed awkwardly. "What?"

Vert glanced to the line of cars passing him. He was hoping that they would see him and follow him to a stopping point. If there were any cops around and he did a U turn... well, let's just say he wasn't very legal to begin with. Having three people piled into the passenger's seat was like having a giant sign on the roof screaming "_Give me a ticket! I'm illegal!_"

"It's the Teku and the Metal Maniacs!" Kara said excitedly.

Vert pulled Reverb into a parking lot, hurriedly getting out and running to the sidewalk, not bothering to close his door. By now, the line of cars had reversed direction and was coming back at him. He grinned and stuck his thumb out playfully at Synkro, laughing.

Both teams pulled into the parking lot and skidded into parking spots, their drivers getting out to see the newfound Teku driver. Some offered pats on the back, and others smothered the blonde with hugs.

Kara, Alex, and Kendred stood, leaning against Reverb silently, as Vert caught up with this team mates.

"So," Tork's voice cut the silence around the trio. "Where have you guys been?"

"Running," Alex answered. "But that's not a problem anymore."

The big man grunted. "Well, I hope you're happy to know that we'll probably be coming back to Colorado with you."

"Why's that?" Kara frowned.

"We had a little... accident..." he muttered, looking away reverently.

"What? Who?" Kara asked, interested.

"It seems having relations with you can be deadly in the City of Angels. We lost Pork Chop."

Nobody said anything for a minute, the sounds of casual chatting and traffic clouding the silence.

"You're wrong," Alex said. "You don't have to come back with us. The guy who's been after us committed suicide. Nobody knows you have connections with us unless he told them, and he never talked to anybody that I know of."

Tork nodded. "I would still feel better coming back with you."

"Whatever floats your boat, man."

Giving them a small smile, Tork walked back to the group.

"Kara, Alex?" Kendred said quietly. "I think it would be better for us, too, if we went back to Miami for a little while."

"Like I said," Alex chuckled. "Whatever floats your boat."

"There's one problem, though,"

Both twins looked at him.

"My car is back at the club... you know, Kara, the one where you found me?"

"No problem," laughed Alex. "Let's just all pile back, illegally, mind you, into Reverb and drive there with you sitting on my lap! Because, you know, I love it when I can't feel my legs."

"No," Vert's voice had now joined the conversation. He sauntered up beside Alex.

"Vert's right, actually, there's no need to be any more illegal then we have to." Kara smiled, hiking her thumb over her shoulder. "It's just right down there. You could walk there. Second alleyway on your right, follow it all the way to the warehouse."

"Well then," Kendred pushed himself off of Reverb. "I'll be seeing you guys, maybe in a year or so."

"Next time, Ken, we'll visit _you_ and see what chaos we can cook up in Florida!" Alex exclaimed.

"Whatever," the white-blonde grinned. "I'll call you when we get back to Miami." With one last wave, he walked down the street and out of view.

Alex smiled broadly, shouldering past Vert. "In the meantime, I'm gonna check out these cars," he headed across to where Kurt and Nolo were chatting.

Kara shifted awkwardly against the vehicle.

"So..." Vert said in a low voice, taking a step toward her. "I've been meaning to talk to you, Kara."

"I bet," she said, her voice almost taking on a haughty tone.

Frowning, Vert looked down. "Look," he said, eventually making eye contact with her. "I'm sorry for what happened. I can't say I wasn't sorry the first time I said it, because I was. It's just... I... " he ran his fingers through his hair nervously.

"You what?" Kara challenged.

"I'm truly sorry, I regret what I did."

"Sometimes sorry isn't enough, Vert." It was Kara's turn now to look away.

Vert stepped closer, so that he was directly in front of her, now just inches away. "What if I said it would never happen again?" He swallowed, "Is my word enough?"

The brunette stared at him. It was the longest moment of Vert's life. Neither of them noticed that the conversation in the background had disappeared and all eyes were on them.

"No," Kara said.

Vert was shocked. Even the traffic seemed to stopped for the moment. "But... but... I love you! Kara, I don't think I could--" he stopped, noticing a growing smile on her face. "What?"

"Of course," she grinned at him, her hands creeping up so her arms were around his neck. "Kiss me, you babbling idiot."

Vert was happy to oblige and embraced her, their lips meeting in a passionate kiss.

A mixture of hoots and whistles came from the audience of racers. Even a shout of "Ewww, get a room!" from Alex, making a few laugh.

"I think we should be getting back," Kara whispered to a red-faced Vert, who announced the statement to the rest of the group. Minutes later, everyone was back on the road.

------------------------------

"What?!" Admiral Graymond exploded, knocking his chair down as he jumped to his feet. "What do you mean McDermott committed suicide?!"

"It's exactly how it sounds, sir," the young man who had confronted the techie minutes earlier was now standing in front of the Admiral, trying not to flinch as the officer shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Don't try to be clever, Agent Graymond," he sneered.

"Sorry sir," the man replied, holding back a sour expression.

The Admiral sat back in his chair, meshing his fingers together for a moment. He leaned toward a small speaker built into the desk with a frown. "Send in Serena Wheeler," he hissed, pressing a tinted button that was camouflaged into the desk.

A second later, the futuristic hiss of the door sounded, and the blonde teenager stepped in. Her face was partially covered by several clear bandages that held together healing cuts and kept her broken nose in line. The girl's usually cold stare was thrown off by yellow rings, indicating healing black eyes.

"Yes, sir?" She spoke clearly, but the edge was gone from her voice.

"You are to accompany Agent Graymond, here, to the Tezla mansion. Find the twins."

There was a grunt of protest from the young man. "I told you I don't need a partner, sir," he growled.

"Adrian!" Admiral Graymond barked, not bothering addressing the man properly. His face was turning red from shouting so much. "You _will_ do as I say."

The man managed out a strangled "Yessir,"

"You are dismissed," the Admiral waved his hand, spinning his chair so that he could look out the picture window that stretched the whole wall.

**Happy last chapter! I dunno if I'll do an epilogue. If I do, it'll probably be kind of short. Thanks to those people who reviewed.**


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